The Powers That Be
by CosmicSon
Summary: 6 months after the Coronation of Queen Elsa, and all is quiet in Arendelle. But the lives of the Queen and Princess are about to take an unexpected turn, and dangerous secrets are coming to light. Now, it's up to the sisters to protect their kingdom and each other against a new threat, with the help of allies both old and new. [Elsanna, OC's, dark themes later on]
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: 1826, 14 years before Elsa's Coronation

King Agdar of Arendelle sighed as he looked out the window to the three small children frolicking in the courtyard below. Two young brunette boys chased after a small redheaded girl while simultaneously flinging snowballs in her direction. As the three children ran out of his line of sight, Kind Agdar focused his attention to a fourth child: his eldest daughter, Princess Elsa. She was sitting cross-legged in the snow, a short distance from where the other children were playing. He couldn't help but admire the young princess, who despite being seated on a pile of snow, still looked like the graceful young princess she was. Princess Elsa took to her etiquette lessons like a fish to water, and it showed in everything she did. He swelled with pride as he imagined what a great Queen she would someday be. Suddenly, Elsa's eyes shot up, and a huge, toothy smile spread across her face. King Agdar followed her line of sight across the courtyard. What he saw there elicited a smile from himself as well; Princess Anna, his youngest daughter at only four years old, had turned the tables on the two boys who were chasing her. They ran as fast as they could from the feisty young princess who was intent on chasing them down and presumably hitting them with the large ball of snow she now carried. The King chuckled quietly, although his happiness did not last very long. His youngest reminded him of the unfortunate business he was currently attending to, and his mind began to wander down less pleasant paths.

Suddenly, he heard a gruff voice in the distance and he began to remember that his study was occupied by another.

"-the best for our kingdoms, and more importantly, our children." The man stood up and cleared his throat loudly when no response was received. "Hello, Agdar! Are you in there, old friend?" This brought the king back from the depths of his mind.

"Ahem. Forgive me, my friend. I was distracted." The King said.

His guest, now standing next to him, looked down into the courtyard, taking in the site that King Agdar was observing.

King Fredrik of Ørnhavn let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Looks like your Anna is already prepared to handle my son!" He watched as Princess Anna tackled both boys and proceeded to stuff their coats full of snow. "Make that sons!" King Fredrik remarked.

"Anna is a strong young girl." King Agdar replied with a grin. "She has always been able to handle herself, even against the greatest adversity."

His grin turned to a frown as quickly as it had appeared. King Fredrik noticed this.

"Agdar, we've been friends a long time, and our Kingdoms allies even longer. I understand your reluctance; in fact, I share it. I worry about my sons as much as you worry about your daughters." Fredrik moved to a shelf near the roaring fireplace and poured two glasses of Scotch. Handing one to Agdar, he continued.

"You and I both know that this is necessary, as awful as it may seem now. And you are the only person on this Earth that I trust with this deal. Of course, my advisers will say that there isn't enough to gain from this, and yours will likely agree. But they're not Kings, not rulers. Most importantly, they're not parents."

Agdar took a sip from his glass, wincing at the taste. "I feel the same way. My council has already advised against it, but I care not for what they think. Our kingdoms are strong as it is, and this deal will only make them stronger." He took another sip, this time relishing the warmth that spread over him after swallowing the deep amber liquid. "But it still seems wrong to determine the futures of our children so long before they are grown."

King Fredrik sat down in a plush leather chair in front of Agdar's desk, taking a long drag from his cigar as he did so. As he blew the smoke out, he quieted, seemingly contemplating something. He began speaking when the smoke cleared, as if it represented the fog in his mind.

"I share your sentiments. But you're forgetting that the futures of our children were decided long before they were born. It is one of the prices of royalty." Another puff from the cigar. "My Aleksander will be King of Ørnhavn, just as your Elsa will be Queen of Arendelle; it is already decided for them by the fates."

Fredrik took a sip of his scotch and sighed. "Agdar, we both know damn well that if we don't set this in stone now, then someone else, someone we can't trust, will try to weasel their way into our affairs. They will target our youngest. And while I've no doubt that Anna and Mattias can handle themselves, they will be targets for manipulation. Anna by so-called 'suitors' and Mattias by the wealthy and powerful. With this deal, we can make sure that doesn't happen. We can protect our kingdoms and our children at the same time."

Agdar ran a hand through his hair and looked down once more at his children. For a moment, he felt envious of them, so young and carefree. They did not yet know of the cruelties of the real world. He watched as all four children laughed and joked as they built a rather lopsided snowman. It was then he made up his mind.

"You're right, Fredrik. If anything, I can sign this deal with Anna's best interests in mind."

He turned and walked toward his desk, circling around Fredrik. He picked up a quill, dipped it in an ink well, and signed the document on his desk. He then melted a bit of wax onto the paper and pressed his Royal Seal next to his signature. He turned the document towards Fredrik and motioned for him to do the same.

"Anna and Mattias will thank us one day." Fredrik proclaimed as he mirrored Agdar's actions. He then handed the document back to Agdar, who took it in his hand and observed the two Royal Seals at the bottom.

"That settles it then." Agdar said, curtly. "From this moment forward, Princess Anna of Arendelle will be betrothed to Prince Mattias of Ørnhavn."

_Gods forgive me..._

* * *

_A/N_

_Hi everybody! I'm CosmicSon, and welcome to my stupid fanfic! I promise the plot I came up with won't suck, but the writing might. After all, I've never written anything in my life!_

_So this is going to start out a little slowly plot wise, but I promise it'll get good, probably around chapter 10 or so (I've got 1-9 written, so don't worry, it won't take too long to get there). Not sure how long this'll be, but we'll find out. _

_It's also got established ElsAnna starting in the next chapter, so if you're cool with icest, great. If not, keep moving. Nothing to see here._

_There's also no smut (yet) or violence (yet). So keep that in mind for a while._

_Bear with me here folks, and thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**14 Years Later**

* * *

"_Elsa..."_

_Someone was calling for her. The voice was faint, but it was there. Somewhere. She looked around, tried to get her bearings, but found it incredibly difficult to move._

_Her eyes came into focus and she nearly wretched at what she saw. _

_She was on the fjord, which was once again frozen. A raging blizzard swirled around her. To her right lay a hooded figure, white robes stained crimson. _

_To her left laid__ copper haired woman, eyes wide and unfocused, staring right into her own. She could hear ragged breathes coming from the woman, telling her that she was not long for this world._

_Behind the woman, she could make out Arendelle castle. It was engulfed in flames, as was the city surrounding it. Suddenly, she heard a low groan._

_Looking back to the woman, she saw that her eyes were still wide, but the uneven breathes had stopped. She was dead. _

_She tried to scream, but found it impossible. _

_She suddenly noticed another hooded figure emerging from the storm. The figure was also clad in white robes, but it's face was obscured by a blinding, brilliant gold light. It was holding something, and as it drew closer, she made out what it was: a sword, dripping with what she could only assume was blood. _

_The figure stepped over the now-deceased woman, ignoring her. It continued to walk towards her, stopping right at her feet. She tried to run, to kick, to scream, but she was still paralyzed. _

_The intense light shone brighter, but she saw the figure raise the sword above it's head. She closed her eyes; she knew what was coming._

_The figure brought the sword down._

* * *

BONG!

She jumped up, gasping in a short breath.

BONG!

She took in her surroundings, trying to assess the threat to her life.

BONG!

She realized she wasn't on the fjord anymore, and there was no longer any danger. She was at her desk, in her study, surrounded by a thin layer of snow and ice.

"Not again..." she mumbled.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle pushed her chair back from her desk and stood, willing away the snow as she did. She stretched and looked at the source of the offending noise. The clock had struck 3, and she silently thanked it for waking her from her nightmare.

Elsa wondered how long ago she had dozed off at her desk. She presumed it was shortly after she returned from sharing lunch with her sister, Princess Anna. She yawned and walked to the large door that led to a balcony outside of her study. She saw that a light snow was falling, and after determining that it was not due to her nightmare, she let out a relaxed sigh and smiled. She loved the snow, and so did her sister.

The thought of her sister made her smile wider, and Elsa slipped into a memory. As she stared out into the flurry, she began to reminisce. It had been six months since her coronation, and so much had happened in that time.

She had cut off trade with their largest economic ally. '_Still feeling the repercussions of that...' _ she thought as she recalled the large stack of paperwork awaiting her on her desk.

She had gained the support of her people, despite her powers, the same powers that she now had perfect control over. '_Well, _almost _perfect.'_

Her face flushed as her thoughts turned to her personal life. It was in this facet of her life that perhaps the most important revelation had occurred:

She had acknowledged her more-than-sisterly feelings for the Princess.

More importantly, her sister had reciprocated the feelings.

She closed her eyes and smiled as she recalled that day on the fjord, six months ago.

That day, Anna had taught her what true love is, and she was certain that what she felt towards her sister was just that. Anna had realized that she felt the same way after a short-lived relationship with the Royal Ice Master and Deliverer.

After a week or so of happiness, Anna had determined that he was, in fact, not her true love, and Kristoff, while upset, understood. He was, after all, the adopted child of love experts. He took the break-up in stride, and the two remained good friends to this day.

Anna had not told him about her feelings toward her sister, and never could. It was imperative that the Queen and Princess keep their relationship a secret. If word got out that the two were romantically involved, there would be hell to pay, and the price would most likely be their heads.

Elsa was stirred from her memories by the cawing of a large Raven which had landed silently on the banister of the balcony. She stared at the Raven as it cawed a second time and flew away, leaving a jet black feather tumbling in the wind.

'_That man has impeccable timing' _she thought_. _Elsa knew what the Raven's appearance on her balcony meant. She regained her composure and unlocked the balcony door before turning to sit at her desk, smoothing out her gown of ice as she did. As she walked towards her desk, a tall, hooded man entered almost completely silently through the unlocked door.

He approached the desk and dropped to one knee in front of it.

"Viggo." she said as she took her seat. "I trust all is well."

"Yes, my Queen." The man replied.

Viggo was Arendelle's unofficial intelligence operative. His existence was known only by the Ruler of Arendelle. He was hired by her father many decades ago, and his job was to act as an unsanctioned right hand to the throne. Arendelle's Army did have it's own spy ring, but they reported to their commanding officers who in turn reported to the reigning monarch. The more lines that information traveled through, the more convoluted it could become. Elsa's father recognized this, and hired Viggo to gather intelligence and report directly to him.

Elsa knew very little about the man. He has been serving Arendelle for a long time, since her father was quite young. He was in his late forties, if she were to guess, the gray in his hair and beard acting as clues to his age. The man's muscles were apparent, even through a dark gray cloak. The muscles were probably a result of some sort of combat training, but Elsa couldn't say for sure. The only indication of any training he might have is the fact that the man was as dangerous with his hands as he was with a sword.. A brutal-looking scar ran from his forehead to his chin, passing over his right eye as well as his lips. Elsa wondered if the man could still see from the eye, which was always glazed over and always glowed an eerie white.

His past was even more of a mystery. From documents left behind by her father, she knew that Viggo was a pariah of his home, whether this was by choice or by force, however, was uncertain.

Two things were very certain, however: The man was very skilled in the art of espionage and was fiercely loyal to the Crown of Arendelle.

"What do you have to report?" the Queen asked.

The man stood before answering. "More of the same, your majesty. My agents in Weselton report that the Duke plans on bringing another petition in front of the Council of Nations to force you back into trade with them."

Queen Elsa rolled her eyes and let out a groan. The man took this as a sign to continue.

A small grin appeared on his face and he let out a low chuckle. "Like I said, your majesty, more of the same."

"What of the Southern Isles?" asked Elsa as she rested her hand across her forehead.

"Yes, the Isles." Viggo replied. "My agent in the court says that the infighting between the twelve brothers has been on the rise in frequency and intensity. He believes it will not be long until the brothers completely turn against each other and civil war erupts. He also reports that the King is powerless to stop them."

After absorbing the information, Elsa replied. "It makes sense, I suppose. The King must be very elderly by now." She furrowed her brow in thought. "Viggo, I noticed that you said twelve brothers."

"You heard correctly." The man replied. "It would appear that Prince Hans has gone missing. I can only assume one of his brothers is responsible. Most of them are still quite angry with the boy for tarnishing the good name of the Southern Isles as badly as he did. My agent does not know exactly when or how the disappearance took place, but it is safe to assume that Prince Hans is most likely deceased."

Elsa shrugged indifferently. "I can't say I'm surprised, or particularly upset to be honest."

"Yes, I imagined you wouldn't be." replied Viggo.

"Any news from any of your other agents?" inquired Elsa.

"Nothing noteworthy, your majesty. There are reports of tension between DunBroch and Berk, but I doubt anything serious will come of it; it's more of a friendly rivalry than anything malicious. As for the other nations, Corona is quiet, as always, as is Ørnhavn."

Ørnhavn. The name sparked a thought in the Queen's mind. The Kingdom was an ally of Arendelle and had been for centuries. Her father was good friends with the late King Fredrik, who passed away from sickness not too long before her own parents had died. The Royal family of Ørnhavn were fond of Arendelle and had visited often until her father closed the kingdom to outsiders. She and Anna were playmates with the two Princes, Aleksander and Mattias. Aleksander had ascended to the throne upon his father's passing.

Elsa had recently received a letter from King Aleksander. The letter said that both the King and Prince would be visiting Arendelle soon, but with no real explanation as to why, simply saying that the brothers had been looking forward to this visit for quite some time. She had charged Viggo with investigating their intent.

"And what of Ørnhavn? Have you determined the purpose of the King and Prince's visit?" She asked.

Upon hearing the question, Viggo tensed. Elsa noticed this, as well as the way the man's eyes looked away from hers. He knew something. Judging from the lapse from his usual unshakeable stoicism, it probably wasn't good.

"I have indeed discovered something, your majesty." He said, apprehensively. "However, I don't believe you should hear it from me." He reached into his cloak and took out a book, and handed it to the Queen.

Elsa took the book from the man and looked down at the cover with a confused look. It was a very old book; the leather binding was cracked and discolored and it was tinted gray by the dust that covered it. She opened the book and read the title out loud.

"'_Dagboken til Kongen Agdar av Arendelle'_... Viggo, this is one of my father's journals. What does this have to do with the letter from-"

She looked up, only to find an empty space in front of her desk and the balcony doors open. Viggo had left as silently as he entered.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hi everybody. How are you doing? Good? Good._

_So that's chapter 2. The events of Frozen have happened, some stuff has gone on in between, and now we're here, with new friends (OR ENEMIES?!1), old foes (OR FRIENDS?!one), and whatever else._

_A few notes about this story:_

_I don't like when writers make Anna useless. Sure, Elsa has the power, but that doesn't mean Anna is unimportant. So I'm imagining her like the Vice President or other similarly important position._

_The Assassin's Creed stuff will be coming a little later into the story. In my silly brain, I have 2 major conflict arcs set; one of which we've already begun to see. The other will happen later, and the AC stuff plays a role in that. So bear with me._

_Anyway, thanks for reading and party on!_

_-Cosmic_


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Queen Elsa frowned as she sat at her desk. She grew more and more annoyed as she stared at the leather-bound book in her hands, trying to determine why the spy had brought it to her. Viggo was a master of intelligence gathering. He was silent, swift, and as far as the rest of the world was concerned, he didn't exist. He was the perfect man for the job. However, the man was cryptic, at times almost to a fault.

Elsa found that infuriating.

She was also bothered that he had intruded on her late father's belongings.

Elsa recalled a long-concealed memory from the night that she had received word of her parents' untimely passing. After the Sun disappeared from the sky over Arendelle, she had ventured to her father's study. Since she couldn't leave her room in daylight in fear of seeing Anna, she had to mourn her parents alone and under the cover of darkness.

* * *

After sobbing at the foot of her father's desk for what seemed like days, Elsa began to look around the room. She admired the antique, hand-carved desk, the enormous bay window overlooking the courtyard, and the massive bookshelves that lined the walls. She tried to take it all in, all the sights and smells and feelings that the room presented her. She stood silently with her eyes closed, breathing deep, trying to absorb as much of her father's essence as she could. King Agdar was beloved by his people, and Elsa doubted she could be half as good of a ruler as he was.

She choked down another sob as her eyes fixed on the family portrait hanging behind his desk. The painting represented happier times, when she was still allowed to communicate with her darling sister. Elsa remembered posing for the portrait and smiled as she recalled how difficult it was to get a then four-year-old Anna to sit still.

As Elsa smiled at the memory, she noticed that the painting was crooked. She approached the painting with the intent of straightening it, but on doing so she noticed that the space directly behind it was recessed. Her curiosity got the better of her and she removed the painting from it's place on the wall. Upon doing so, she discovered a hidden book shelf, lined with several dozen identical leather-bound books, each with a volume number on the spine. She picked up the first in the row and ran her hands over the worn and faded leather of the cover. There were no markings to hint at the book's contents, aside from the number one pressed into the spine.

She wondered why her father would keep so many volumes of books with no titles, and why he would keep such a vast collection hidden behind a painting. She opened the text, hoping to find some answers. Inside was handwriting where she was expecting print. The lines of ink were faded with time, but she was able to make out the only words on the first page: _The Journal of King Agdar of Arendelle._ Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. She had discovered her father's personal journals.

Elsa debated reading further into the journal and discovering what secrets her father might have stored inside, hoping that perhaps he left some of his wisdom behind to assist her when she was crowned Queen. After a lengthy internal debate, she decided that her father's private thoughts should remain just that; private. She returned the journal to it's spot on the shelf, readjusted the painting to hide the volumes, and moved to leave his study. As she approached the doorway, she took one last look at the family portrait. Her eyes focused on her father, and she weakly returned his smile.

* * *

Queen Elsa was brought back to the present by a rhythmic knocking at her door; two knocks followed by three in quick succession. After the last knock, her sister, Princess Anna, burst into the room. A smile immediately found it's way to the Queen's face.

"Good afternoon, your majesty." said Anna, curtsying slightly before hurriedly standing. She closed the door behind her as she scampered into the room. Elsa smiled and let out a quiet laugh at the unnecessary formality.

"Anna, you know that you don't have to be so regal with me, especially when there's... no... one... what exactly are you doing?" A confused look overtook Elsa's smile as she noticed Anna had locked the door and was now traveling around the room and drawing all the curtains.

After closing the balcony door and throwing the curtain over it, Anna skipped over to her sister's desk. She leaned forward on the desk with both hands and a seductive half-smile began to show itself.

"This." Anna said, as she leaned in and kissed Elsa deeply.

Elsa's eyes widened in shock. She was not prepared for the amount of passion behind the random kiss, but she slowly sank into it as her sister began crawling over her desk towards her, scattering papers every which way.

Just as Elsa was beginning to truly enjoy herself, Anna broke the kiss and looked down at Elsa's lap.

"What's that?" she asked, referring to the book resting on Elsa's thighs.

Elsa began slowly opening her eyes and responded, but the kiss caught her so off-guard that she was finding it difficult to formulate complete sentences.

"Uh.. whu... huh? Oh. Oh! This!" she finally managed as she picked up the book from her lap. "This is one of Papa's journals." she explained.

Still on the desk, Anna sat up on her knees and a puzzled look overtook her freckled face.

"I though you said you weren't going to read them." Anna said, more of a statement than a question.

Elsa once again struggled to respond, but for different reasons. She couldn't explain to Anna how she had gotten the journal, as Viggo was known only to her. She trusted Anna implicitly, but no one could know of Viggo's existence, not even her. If even one other person knew about the operative, his effectiveness as a spy- as well as his life- would be jeopardized. So she did what she had to do in order to protect state secrets, and lied to Anna.

"I thought that, maybe, it's been a long enough time since Papa passed and that perhaps he wouldn't mind if I read them." Elsa explained. "And who knows, with all the foreign relation problems we've found ourselves with after my coronation, maybe he wrote something in here that could help. After all, he was a very good King."

Anna looked questioningly down at Elsa for a few more seconds before her expression eased and a smile grew across her face.

"Okay. If that's what you think is best, then go for it!" Anna said as she leaned down to place another kiss on Elsa's lips.

Elsa smiled at her sister lovingly as Anna hopped off of the desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it.

"So." Anna began, after taking a document off of one of the large piles of paper on Elsa's desk and eying it curiously. "What's all this stuff about?"

Elsa was surprised at her younger sister's interest in her work. The girl was known for having a certain aloofness to her, but in recent weeks she was growing more and more concerned with the goings-on of her country, even going so far as to sit in on meetings with Elsa's advisers. Elsa felt a swelling sense of pride at the fact that she was watching Anna mature into the role of a leader. The people of Arendelle adored the Princess, and she returned their adoration with fervor. It was about time she started to care about what it actually took to keep the citizens safe and happy.

Elsa sighed and began to explain the day's work. "Well, nothing fun. It's mostly economic things. I'm afraid that Arendelle is in a bit of a tight spot money-wise, between our severance of trade with Weselton and the issues with the Southern Isles. I'm looking over new tax and tariff proposals for our domestic economy and considering raises to external trade prices of Arendelle's exports. If we can adjust all this without becoming overbearing on our citizens, we should be able to cut our loses and perhaps even be as well off as we were while still trading with Weselton."

Anna's brow furrowed in anger at the mention of their former trade partner. "_Weaseltown."_ She spat, as though the word left a sour taste on her tongue. "Still causing us problems. At least the Duke isn't trying to have you assassinated anymore."

"Ever the optimist, Anna." Elsa laughed. She was amused by her sister's ability to see the bright side of even the worst situations.

Anna continued. "Well, The Duke _and_ Hans both tried to kill you. I'm sure the citizens understand the need to cut ties with them, even if that means the tax rates will increase."

Elsa exhaled longingly. "Hopefully you're right, my love. The last thing I need is the citizens opposing my economic policy on top of being afraid that I'm an 'evil Ice Witch'." she said half teasingly, but Anna knew that the comment wasn't all in jest and frowned at the statement.

"Elsa, you know they don't think that. You showed them that you can control your powers. You unfroze the fjord, stopped the Eternal Winter, and kept Arendelle out of Hans' grubby little hands! They should be grateful."

Elsa shrugged. "I suppose. But technically it was _you_ that did all that." she said with a grin.

Anna crumpled the paper in her hand and threw it at Elsa, who raised her hands defensively and laughed as it bounced harmlessly off her head. "Oh shush." Anna scoffed. "It was _both_ of us. Neither of us could have done it without the other."

Still laughing, Elsa replied. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Although I'm positive that there are some citizens that are still wary of my powers."

Anna raised her shoulders in reply. "So let them be wary. I'm all that matters anyway." she said and stuck her tongue out at the elder sister.

They both laughed for awhile, and fell into an amicable silence. The sisters locked eyes, ice blue meeting bright aquamarine. She saw nothing but love and total trust in Anna's eyes, a testament to the true love they shared. She frowned slightly as she remembered lying to Anna about the journal and decided that reading it could wait. She made the decision to spend the rest of the day with Anna in recompense of the deception.

"I'm tired of paperwork and reading for today. Why don't we do something fun for the rest of the afternoon? Together." Elsa asked, and Anna's eyes lit up before narrowing as she smiled coyly.

"Hmm... I can think of a few things we can do together." Anna replied in a low sultry voice. Elsa understood immediately and half-smiled as Anna stood and bowed in her direction while offering Elsa her hand.

"Come my Queen, let us retire to our chambers for an afternoon of... _fun_." the copper-haired Princess said in a mock-male voice and she took Elsa's hand.

"Oh my, do be gentle my Prince!" Elsa raised her free hand to her mouth and giggled as her sister dragged her out of her study and towards her bedchambers.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya folks! There's that useful Anna stuff I mention earlier. Plus, we finally got some ElsAnna (yay implied sexytimes!). Isn't that neat?_

_Also, feel free to leave reviews, whether it's too yell at me for bad writing, yell at me for good writing, share a recipe, vent about your ex, convert me to your religion, whatever you want. I only request that you leave at least one productive comment amongst the noise._

_So this is more story buildup. The ice (get it? ice? Frozen?) hits the fan in the next chapter, so strap in, homies._

_Stay beautiful!_

_-Cosmic_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The rest of the day had gone wonderfully. After sharing a rather exhausting afternoon together, Elsa and Anna ate dinner and retired to the library for the evening. There, they drank hot cocoa by the fire as they both read in comfortable silence. Elsa was pleased with what she considered a perfect day.

The following morning found Elsa once again in her study. The windows were coated with light snow, as the snowfall from the previous day continued through the night, increasing in intensity from a flurry to a proper snowstorm. Elsa admired the serene beauty of her country coated in snow before turning her attention back to her work.

She sipped the cup of tea she had prepared for her and began to sort through the papers on her desk, taking in how important each one was as she went. The desk was still a mess from Anna's interruption yesterday, but the outcome was so pleasant that Elsa didn't mind at all.

She sighed contentedly as she organized the papers. There were more tax propositions, building permits that needed to be approved, and trade agreements that needed reviewing, among other things. She noticed a requisition form from Kristoff; another sled. She let out an exasperated sigh. '_Again? That man goes through sleds like his reindeer goes through carrots.'_ Elsa made a mental note to have a chat with him later.

The Queen began to read, approve, sign and seal the paperwork. After several hours of doing so, the monotony of the process finally got to her and she let her mind wander. She thought back to the previous day's conversation with Anna, about the concerns that the citizens had over her powers.

Elsa wasn't lying when she said she was positive that people still feared her. Viggo had confirmed it on multiple occasions, informing her that not only were some of her citizens apprehensive about her abilities, but several members of her court as well, including some of her advisers and members of the Royal Guard.

"_Nothing to be concerned about, for now._" he had told her. She trusted the man's judgment; she knew that if there was a serious threat, he would end it before it started. The man was devastatingly efficient when it came to protecting the Royal Family.

Elsa turned her attention back to her work. She quickly burned through the stack of papers on her desk until her father's journal was uncovered. She grimaced, hesitant to pick it up, but Viggo's odd behavior during their meeting the day before spurred her on. She picked it up and opened to the heart of the book.

The volume opened to a page about a quarter of the way in, which was bookmarked with a sealed document. She recognized the wax seal immediately; it was the Royal Seal of Arendelle. Elsa wondered why her father would leave a Royal document in his personal journal. She brushed her concern off with a shrug and put the document aside. Elsa picked up the journal and began to read.

"_November__ 15, 1826"_

"_Today was by far the most difficult day of my tenure as King. I fear I will not be able to fully explain the guilt that I feel in words, for it is stronger than anything I have ever felt before. As King Fredrik said, this was decided long ago, before my children were born, before even I was born. But that makes it no easier. Nor does it make me feel any better about it."_

Elsa started to worry. The tone of her father's writing was gloomy and foreboding, but she continued reading.

"_Anna. Sweet, innocent, Anna. Only four-years-old, and already her future has been determined for her. It seems unfair, but I do understand that this is the price of royalty. Our children, our most precious gift to this world, are used as nothing but pawns. It has been this way for centuries, but that does not make it right in my eyes. I can only hope that my children can find it in their hearts to forgive me some day, though I will understand if they do not."_

Elsa frowned. Something had clearly made her father very upset. She read on.

"_Elsa is the Crown Princess. She will take my place as ruler of Arendelle sometime in the future. I can already tell that she will be a wonderful Queen. She is growing so quickly, and even at the tender age of seven, she is more fit to rule than I was on the day of my coronation."_

Elsa couldn't help but smile, though her father's self-deprecation still worried her. Even still, it was nice to know that he had such confidence in her.

"_Her powers are worrisome, of course. We understand so little about them. Nothing in any of my books even comes close to explaining them. They grow stronger and more impressive as she gets older, and the things she can do with them are magnificent; beautiful even. While they seem to be harmless for now, her mother and I fear that they will possibly become dangerous."_

Elsa's frown returned as she read her father's eerily-accurate prediction.

"Unfortunately you were right, Papa. I'm glad that you weren't around to see what happened at my coronation. You would have been so disappointed in me."

Elsa looked back to the page.

"_Her powers will make finding a suitor for her difficult, to say the least. This may not be all so bad though. Elsa will most likely be able to choose whatever path she wants for her life, and I am eternally thankful for that. I know she will understand what I have done, maybe not now, maybe not in my lifetime, but she will someday."_

"_If I were to be honest, I am glad that it had to be Prince Mattias. He is a strong yet caring young boy, only two years Anna's senior. I know that he will treat her well. She will be in good hands."_

Elsa grew confused. "Prince Mattias?" she muttered, pondering the possible reasons why her father had mentioned her old playmate. '_What does he have to do with anything? Maybe this is why Viggo gave me the journal.' _thought Elsa.

"_His older brother, Prince Aleksander, will be king of Ørnhavn one day, and so he escapes this fate as well. But I do trust Fredrik. He has been a friend as long as I can remember, and a very good friend at that. Despite my reservations about this whole ordeal, I am glad that it is one of his son's that Anna is betrothed to and not the son of some other random king or queen."_

Shock and panic reached Elsa's face. "Betrothed? What is he talking about?" she questioned audibly.

Suddenly, it hit her like a crossbow bolt. Viggo's unease over the King and Prince's visit. The guilt and worry in her father's words.

"No..."

"Gods no..."

"Anything but that..."

Elsa grabbed the document that marked this page, frantically tearing at the wax seal. In her haste, she failed to notice the howling wind of the storm growing louder. She looked at the document and quickly read it, partly aloud.

"...King Agdar..."

"...Ørnhavn..."

"...legally binding..."

"...Princess Anna..."

"...henceforth betrothed..."

"...Prince Mattias..."

She dropped the document. Tears welled up in her eyes as the balcony doors burst open, letting in the fury of the now-raging storm. She turned back to her father's journal as she read the final paragraph.

"_Luckily for my daughters, they will have many years of ignorant bliss together before Anna comes of age. I will tell them of the betrothal not a second before then. I will let Anna enjoy her youth and freedom as much as humanly possible. Again, hopefully she can forgive me someday, Gods willing."_

Elsa dropped the journal as the snow began to build up in her study. Sharp icicles began forming from the walls. She couldn't believe it. Her father had given _her_ sister, _her_ true love, away to some Prince. She knew the boy, yes, many many years ago, before the accident. But that made it no better.

Her sadness turned to fury as she spun towards the portrait of her father on the wall. Spears of ice began ripping through the canvas. Elsa couldn't even begin to fathom the betrayal that she felt. She fell to her knees and screamed at the now tattered painting.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?! _WHY _WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!"

Her face fell into her hands and she began to sob.

"I _just_ got her back, and now I'm supposed to _give her away?!"_

She suddenly became acutely aware of someone aggressively knocking at the door. A frantic voice could be heard from the other side over the howling of the wind and snow.

"Elsa! Are you okay? What's going on?!" It was Anna, _her _Anna.

Elsa heard the doorknob turn, but the ice had sealed it shut.

"Elsa! Let me in, please!" Anna pleaded.

Elsa's hands shot up to her face, a new wave of sadness washing over her as she heard her sister's voice.

A moment passed and suddenly the door burst open, the sounds of ice shattering cutting through the bellowing of the storm. Elsa's attention was drawn to the Royal Guard standing in the doorway, but he was quickly pushed aside as Anna forced her way passed him.

"Elsa!" she cried. "Elsa what's wrong?!"

Elsa tried to reply, but seeing her sister only caused her to become more upset. Not trusting her own voice, she simply grabbed Anna and began sobbing into her shoulder.

"Shh... It's alright. I'm here." Anna stroked Elsa's hair as she held her, whispering soothing words to the Queen the whole time. She turned her attention to the guard, still standing in the doorway, dumbstruck by the scene laid out before him.

"Leave us." Anna barked at him, an unusually authoritative tone to her voice. The guard quickly took his leave, hefting the door shut behind him.

Anna held her sister for what seemed like hours, letting her cry into her shoulder. The wind, snow, and ice began to recede after some time as Elsa finally began to calm down. Anna noticed the sobbing had stopped, replaced with intermittent sniffles.

Anna helped her sister up and walked her to a sofa by the fireplace. After laying the Queen down, the Princess stood and began to tidy up the mess that the wind had caused. After a few minutes, the sniffles became few and far between. Anna walked toward her sister to check on her.

Elsa looked up and whimpered. "Anna..."

Anna looked at her sister, concern evident in her eyes. She placed a hand on her sister's head. "I'm right here, Elsa. I always will be."

With that, Elsa's eyes began to close, exhaustion from her sadness and fury finally catching up with her. As she drifted off to sleep, she spoke, barely above a whisper.

"What are we gonna do?"

* * *

_A/N_

_Woo boy, how bout that, huh? Does that make me evil? I don't wanna be evil. _

_I'll admit, I felt terrible writing this chapter. Ripping them apart after finally being reunited with each other after all that time?_

_I'm bad people._

_Anyways, now we're getting to the thick of it. Or at least some of the thick of it. Or whatever. I'll upload the next chapter soon, I promoise!_

_Also, apologies for any typos in this author's note. I've had quite a bit to drink tonight. It's friday, gimme a break._

_As always, questions/comments/concerns/weightloss tips are welcomed and encouraged. Don't be afraid to yell at me. I can take it!_

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_-Cosmic_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

For the first time since discovering Elsa's powers, Princess Anna was afraid. Elsa had only lost control of her powers to this extent three times before. Once at her coronation, again in her ice palace when she struck Anna's heart, and again on the fjord when Hans had told her that Anna was dead. Since then, Elsa had maintained impeccable control of her gift. Anna knew that something terrible had to have happen in order for Elsa to lose control like this.

It had began when Anna noticed the storm outside beginning to grow unnaturally intense. She immediately feared for her sister's safety. She ran to Elsa's study, catching the attention of several guards, whom she ignored. She had only noticed that they had followed her once she got to the door of the study. When Elsa didn't answer her and the door didn't open, Anna panicked. Elsa had promised to never shut her out again, and the locked door only helped to make her even more concerned for her sister's safety.

A guard had told her to stand back, which she did, as he put all his weight into the door, finally dislodging it. Anna pushed passed him as soon as the door was open and gasped at the sight she was greeted with. Elsa was kneeling before the now-destroyed portrait of their father, face in her hands and snow and wind coursing around her. Anna ran to her sister's side immediately, disregarding her own safety.

Elsa was inconsolable. Anna had no idea what had happened, but it was obviously something terrible. She wondered what could break Elsa so badly as she held her, trying to console and relax her. Eventually, the storm died down and Elsa stopped crying. She helped the distraught Queen over to a sofa and laid her down. Elsa succumbed to the exhaustion almost immediately, and as she fell asleep, Anna heard her finally speak.

"What are we gonna do?"

"What are we gonna do about _what?_" Anna had replied, but the Queen was already out cold.

Now Anna stood amidst the result of her sister's outburst, and she was genuinely afraid. Not of Elsa's powers, but of whatever could have caused this.

She began cleaning the mess that the storm had caused in Elsa's study. It was a good distraction from her fear, but Elsa's question remained burned into the front of her mind.

Anna collected and reorganized her sister's papers, stacking them neatly on the desk. She then turned her attention to the now-torn portrait on the wall. She had found Elsa under the painting and began to wonder if her father had anything to do with this.

An epiphany struck her and she jumped up. "Papa's journal!" she exclaimed. Elsa had said she was going to read it. She must have found something in it that caused her to get upset. Anna rooted through the rest of the study, eventually finding both the journal and another page of paper nearby it.

She picked up the journal, which was lying open to a page stained with what she could only surmise to be teardrops. '_This must be the page Elsa had read earlier.' _she thought to herself. Anna cleared the snow from Elsa's chair before she sat down at the desk and began to read.

Anna's eyes grew wide with horror as she made her way down the page. She couldn't contain the tears that had formed as she finished the journal entry. Putting the book down, she turned her attention to the document that was lying near the journal. As she read it, the tears began to flow freely. Distraught and unsure of what to do, she walked over to her peacefully-sleeping older sister. She gingerly placed Elsa's head in her lap and cried quietly as she stroked Elsa's platinum blonde hair. The words from the document plagued her mind, causing her to grow more and more upset.

"Oh Elsa, I don't _want_ to get married. I only want to be with you. How could Papa do this to me? To _us?" _Anna asked aloud.

First her father had kept them separate for thirteen years, and now this? It was too much to process. Too much to understand. The revelation of her betrothal would change their lives. She didn't want to leave Elsa for some man. Sure, she knew Prince Mattias, they were playmates when they were much younger. But that was fourteen years ago. How could she know what to expect from him? Plus, she didn't _love_ him.

She stayed with Elsa for several more hours, wondering what to do the entire time. She could just say no to the marriage, but it was a legally binding document. There could be severe repercussions if she did. Arendelle and Ørnhavn were allies, but if she refused the marriage, that could change. Arendelle might be put in danger. Worse, _Elsa_ might be put in danger.

Plus, if she left, Elsa might not be able to control her powers anymore. The Queen had willingly admitted to her that it was the love they shared that allowed her to maintain control. Anna couldn't leave her sister, but neither could she think of a way to get out of the contract. She was a Princess, after all, and had a duty to her Kingdom to fulfill the agreement. She cursed her new-found sense of responsibility.

Princess Anna argued with herself out loud, caught in a moral struggle between her duty as Princess and her devotion to her sister. She only quieted when Elsa stirred, not wanting to wake the exhausted Monarch.

She furrowed her brow, continuing the argument in her mind. She knew the options, knew the possible outcomes of each one, and knew the dangers that some of them posed to her Kingdom and her sister. Her lips trembled as she came to a conclusion, sobs threatening to find their way up from her throat.

Anna sighed deeply. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The sun was going down before Elsa finally awoke.

Her eyes slowly opened to see her sister looking down at her and smiling. Anna had refused to leave her side, and Elsa smiled weakly at how faithful the Princess was.

Anna leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Elsa's head when she noticed her sister was awake.

"Hi." she whispered. Despite her own internal conflict, she was still worried about Elsa's well being. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Elsa stretched, tensing the muscles in her arms and legs. "Yes, now that you're here." she replied.

Anna let out an exasperated laugh. She could tell her sister was lying through her teeth. No one could possibly be okay after an outburst like that. No one could be okay after learning that they could lose the love of their life. Knowing this, she wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room.

"Elsa... I read Papa's journal... I know about Prince Mattias. About the... betrothal.._." _She shuddered as the word left her mouth, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

Elsa frowned as she suddenly sat up. She wrapped her arms around the visibly distraught Princess; it was her turn to provide comfort now.

"Anna..." she began, speaking softly into the redhead's ear. "We will fix this. I won't let this happen." Anna could sense the panic growing in her older sister's voice. "There must be something I can do here. I'm the Queen, dammit. I can have the document declared invalid, get the deal struck down, erase it from the records. It'll be like it never even existed! My advisers-"

Anna cut her off before she could finish the thought. "You're advisers will never agree to that, and you know it."

Elsa drew back from her sister. She knew Anna was right. Her advisers care only about what is best for the Kingdom, and voiding a contract with Arendelle's closest ally was not it. Elsa cupped her hands around her lover's face, looking directly into her eyes. Anna placed her own warm hands over Elsa's cold ones.

"Anna, I can't lose you again. Not after I just got you back." Tears began falling from the Queen's eyes.

Anna wiped a tear from Elsa's cheek and exhaled, expression turning stoic. "Elsa... I have to do this. You know it, I know it. There is no getting out of this." Elsa began breathing heavier and faster as Anna continued. "I'm a Princess. It's what is expected of me. And of top of that, I have a duty to the Kingdom to go-"

Anna noticed the ice creeping up the walls as Elsa stood up violently, cutting her off with a shout.

"Duty be _damned_! _Arendelle_ be _damned_!" Elsa punctuated each curse by throwing her arms to her side, casting shards of ice that hissed and cracked menacingly as they struck the walls.

Now hyperventilating, the Queen looked at her sister. She saw fear in the Princess's eyes. Anna wasn't looking at the ice, however. Her eyes were locked on Elsa's. The Queen realized that Anna's fear was not for her powers or her anger. No, Anna wasn't afraid of her; she was afraid _for_ her. The realization brought Elsa back from the brink, and she concentrated on dissipating the ice she had cast out.

The ice receded, and Elsa fell to her knees. Staring at the floor, she meekly spoke.

"I can't lose you again, Anna. I wouldn't survive it."

Anna jumped off the couch and fell next to her sister, taking the distraught woman into her embrace. Anna was shocked by her own sense of duty, and she couldn't imagine how Elsa felt about it. She chuckled cynically at the thought. Never in a million years did she expect to be the one with the swelling sense of responsibility to her Kingdom.

She shifted her focus back to the trembling woman in her arms. Watching Elsa break as she had was heart wrenching. She gripped her older sister tighter as she whispered into her ear.

"Don't worry, my Elsa. We'll fix this. Together."

* * *

_A/N_

_Well hi there everybody. Here's another chapter for you. A little shorter than the last one, but it's something._

_I've been pretty awful to our girls in these chapters, and I can't forgive myself. We've got one more serious chapter, and then I'm gonna pour on the fluff. YOu deserve, Anna and Elsa deserve it, I (don't) deserve it._

_Again, reviews are encouraged. I can't get any better unless you let me know how badly I suck, so get to it!_

_Thanks for stickin with me so far!_

( ˘ ³˘)

-Cosmic


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Elsa sat at her desk in the library. After finally leaving her ruined study with Anna, she decided that the shocking revelations that took place there would be too much of a distraction to her for the foreseeable future. The library was just as good of a work environment as her study, so that is where she set up shop. Elsa was still exhausted, but she pushed it out of her mind to focus on finding a way to get her lover out of this situation.

She had to tread carefully in her investigation. She did not want anyone to find out about the betrothal, and she certainly couldn't have anyone finding out her motives for wanting the contract void. The guards that accompanied Anna the previous day already knew too much, having seen her breakdown personally.

The Queen had attorneys that could help her, of course. A legion of them. The best Arendelle had to offer. She had gone to them earlier in the day with the betrothal agreement under the guise of checking it's validity. They only made her feel worse when they told her that the signatures and seals on the document were valid. After making the group swear that they would not speak of what had transpired, she stormed out of the room in a huff, leaving a trail of frost in her wake.

Now, she sat at her desk across from the only man that could truly help her. She glared at Viggo, making sure not to break eye contact with the older man. She was trying to read him, but as usual, his expression gave away nothing. She wished he would slip up and let his face betray his thoughts as he did when he delivered her father's journal to her two days ago.

She had summoned the spy after the abysmal meeting with her attorneys. While they were useful, she could not ask them to try to void the contract. They would require a motive to do so, and her motive was a forbidden love for her sister. Viggo was not an attorney, and did not require or care to know a motive, and luckily for Elsa, arranged marriages were not contained to the Royal court; normal citizens could be betrothed as well.

So, Elsa had tasked the man with speaking to the best attorney in Arendelle that wasn't under the employ of the Royal Court. She had him inquire about voiding a marriage contract that he had unwittingly arranged for his "daughter" after a night of raucous debauchery at the local tavern.

Viggo sat across from her, still as death and expression infuriatingly neutral, to report his findings. Elsa had to admit to herself that she was nervous of what the man was going to say, but her calm and indifferent expression did not betray anything either.

She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Well?" It was all that need be said.

Viggo snapped to attention and began his report.

"I have news, but I am not sure that it is what you want to hear. Keep in mind though, that this information is meant for a normal citizen, and not the Royal Family. Any consequences that the attorney told me of with be amplified exponentially for you."

Elsa grew annoyed at the way the man was seemingly dodging the question.

"Out with it." she spat, brow furrowing in anger. She was in no mood for idle chit-chat.

"Right. Sorry." The man apologized, drawing a deep breath. "To make a long story short, there is no way to break off the betrothal without legal repercussions, including but not limited to fines or jail time for the offending party. Obviously fines and imprisonment are of no issue to you, as you are Queen. As I said, the repercussions for you would be far more severe, and could include anything from being kicked out of the Council of Nations to war being declared on Arendelle. The Council might even demand you abdicate the throne.

The man tensed as he noticed the temperature of the room drop noticeably. He saw ice creeping out from under the Queen's chair, but he continued.

"Fortunately, however, there is a possible solution." The man paused, waiting for approval to continue, but the Queen did not move a hair on her body. She had nothing to say to the man. After a tense few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Viggo explained.

"While there are no legal ways out of the contract _prior_ to marriage, _after_ the marriage is an entirely different story. The Princess could request an annulment on the grounds of abuse or mistreatment."

Elsa's brow shot up and the ice expanding from under her desk halted in it's tracks. Viggo had caught her attention. He continued explaining himself.

"Obviously, proof of mistreatment would be required and the diplomatic repercussions of accusing a Prince of spousal abuse could be severe, but I know well of the King and Prince of Ørnhavn. They are reasonable people, especially the Prince. He might even be able to be convinced to agree to the annulment outright."

The spy noticed Elsa's shoulders relax, and the room began to warm. Viggo took this as a sign that he could speak more candidly.

"Obviously I will have to investigate this further. I would not want to give you false hope. But if I may be so bold, Your Majesty, if you truly want this marriage void, I believe waiting until after the Princess and the Prince are wed and petitioning to have the marriage annulled is the best course of action."

He noticed the Queen's breath hitch as he finished speaking. She opened her mouth to respond, but found it difficult to form words. Closing and reopening her mouth, she tried again.

"Thank you, Viggo. You have done well. Please continue investigating our options."

She pushed her chair back from the desk and stood. Viggo stood immediately after her and bowed as she walked around him towards the door.

The Queen opened the door but stopped before stepping through. Without looking back, she spoke.

"Do what you must to make sure that not a single soul finds out about my inquiries."

"Of course, Your Majesty." the man replied, still bowing.

Elsa left the room and closed the door behind her.

After hearing the door click shut, Viggo straightened himself and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

* * *

Queen Elsa walked through the halls of the castle with purpose. She needed to find Anna, and nothing could stop her. Elsa didn't notice several of her advisers trying to speak with her, nor did she notice the concerned looks of her staff as they stared uneasily at the fractals of ice radiating from her feet with every step she took. She didn't care what the staff needed from her; she had a way to keep Anna.

The Queen replayed her conversation with Viggo in her head over and over again. Obviously waiting until after Anna was wed was not the most preferable solution, but a way out was a way out. Unless she could find another way, it was their only option.

She found Anna in the portrait room. The Princess sat cross-legged on the floor staring up at the painting of Joan of Arc, as she had done many times before. This time was different, however; the Princess wasn't speaking. She usually came here to vent her frustrations to whichever historical figures were willing to lend an ear.

Elsa frowned. She knew that her sister was lost in thought about the marriage. The betrothal plagued her own mind, and she wasn't the one that the marriage was arranged for. She couldn't imagine what her younger sister was going through.

* * *

Princess Anna sat in the portrait room as she often did. The eighteen-year-old was staring at Joan of Arc, trying to untangle her own mind in an attempt to figure out what she was feeling and what she should be feeling.

She _should_ be angry. She _should_ be upset, afraid even. But she wasn't. She was conflicted. Her head was locked in an impossible struggle between her desire to stay with her sister-turned-lover and her surprisingly formidable sense of duty. She didn't know which side would win, or which side she even _wanted _to win. So she settled on the only thing that could describe what she was feeling.

Princess Anna was confused.

She knew that there was likely no way out of the marriage; she had reached that conclusion the night prior, in Elsa's study. For some reason, she wasn't nearly as distraught as she thought she would be. She knew that the marriage would benefit her people, and the Princess part of her was glad about that. But the side of her that was her sister's lover was most displeased. She couldn't leave Elsa. She didn't want to leave Elsa. But she had to, for her Kingdom.

Anna groaned audibly and flopped down onto her back. Being a Princess was exhausting.

* * *

Elsa's frown turned into a slight smile and she let out a quiet laugh as she listened to Anna groan and fall backwards. She approached her sister slowly, making sure not to startle her. Anna must have noticed her footsteps, because the Princess's head tilted to look in her direction.

Elsa smiled at the younger girl, who returned the smile with fervor. When she was next to Anna, she knelt down and lifted the woman's head into her lap. Elsa then leaned down and kissed the Princess passionately, trying to send reassurance to the redhead with her lips.

After a few seconds, she ended the kiss and brought her head back up. She began stroking the copper locks in her lap and broke the silence.

"Don't get too excited, but I think I found a way to get you out of the marriage."

Anna clambered to her knees upon hearing what her sister said. She twisted her body around to face the Queen, eyes hopeful. She remained silent as Elsa continued her explanation.

"Unfortunately, there is no way to break the contract without causing a diplomatic catastrophe." Elsa said. Anna's brow lowered and her eyes found the floor, her hopes slightly dashed. The Princess understood; she knew that there was no real way out of the arrangement that wouldn't result in some sort of international conflict. Anna's eyes found her elder sister's again as the Queen continued.

Elsa braced herself for what she was about to say. "You will have to go through with the marriage. As of now, there is no way around it."

To Elsa's surprise, Anna's expression did not falter. Elsa knew that the Princess had realized this fact. This made the emotional impact of the statement much easier for Elsa to bear, and she continued to explain.

"After you are married, you could petition for annulment. You could accuse the Prince of mistreating you, which could also have political consequences, or you could get the Prince to agree to the annulment. Either way, you wouldn't stay married."

Elsa gave her sister a moment to process what she had told her. Anna's eyes darted to and fro, indicating she was lost in thought. Both sisters remained silent for a long moment before Anna took Elsa's hands in her own and finally spoke.

"Elsa, you and I both know that I can't do that. We wouldn't suffer the consequences, our people would."

Elsa frowned at the statement. Anna was right, she just didn't want to admit it. She forced the lump forming in her throat back down and spoke.

"I- I know that, Anna, but I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't care."

A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek before she felt a warm hand reach up to wipe it away.

"I have to do this to keep our people safe. To keep _us_ safe. I'll marry Prince Mattias, but I will never love him. You are my true love, and nothing will change that."

With that, Anna stood, dragging her sister up with her. She looked lovingly into the Queen's eyes before wrapping her arms around her and putting her lips to Elsa's.

Elsa could feel the love radiating from the kiss, and it reassured her that what Anna said was true. She knew nothing would keep Anna from her, not even a husband.

Anna pulled back from Elsa and their hands found each others again. Anna smirked slightly and Elsa's brow rose in confusion before Anna spoke once again.

"I'll marry him all right, but if he even thinks for a _second _that I'm leaving Arendelle, he's got another thing coming!"

Elsa couldn't help but smile.

* * *

_A/N_

_Here's a quick update for you. I'd like to update on a schedule, but this weekend has been hectic. Plus I caught a cold on the first weekend after class started back up. Can you believe that? Utter b.s. is what it is._

_Anyways, we're trucking right along. As I promised, it's time for some fluff. CH. 7 will be the longest so far, and it's fluffy as all hell. I almost vomited while writing it. I'll say around chapter 10 is where stuff starts getting more interesting. _

_I'd also like to address when the AC stuff will come into play. All I'll say is pretty soon after ch. 10. Assasssins are stealthy, you know? I have to write them into the story stealthily. _

_Anyways, keep the reviews coming folks. I'll have another update for you tomorrow morning!_

_One love,_

_-Cosmic_


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

The previous evening had ended as many others had. During their conversation in the portrait room, Anna had made it clear that her pragmatism towards the betrothal would not alter how she felt about Elsa. However, the Princess wanted to make sure that her elder sister understood completely. So the Queen once again found herself being dragged to her bedroom by her younger sibling.

Now, Elsa sat in bed reflecting on the previous night's activities as the light of a new day shone through her window.

The two had made love with the same passion and fervor as usual, but the driving force behind the passion was something new. Elsa had felt a desperation that she hadn't felt before, almost as if she needed to make sure her sister was still real, still there, still _hers._ At the same time, she could feel Anna reassuring her that she was, in fact, still hers with every touch, kiss, and caress. Elsa had found it overwhelming and a few rogue tears had fallen from her eyes as the two intertwined their beings, reaffirming their undying love for each other. A chill ran down Elsa's spine at the memory.

The Queen sighed before finally opening her eyes to the new day. She looked down to see the Princess, still completely nude, haphazardly sprawled across her body. Elsa clapped a hand over her mouth. Anna was an enthusiastic cuddler, to say the least, and it took all the willpower the Queen could muster to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape and wake her lover.

Elsa managed to stop the laugh from becoming audible, but she couldn't stop her chest from heaving as she held it in. The Princess stirred slightly before letting out a yawn. The younger girl smiled and spoke without opening her eyes.

"G'mornin' Els."

Elsa giggled at her sister's sleep-laden voice before reaching down to stroke Anna's unruly copper mane.

"Good morning, my love." Elsa replied, voice elegant and poised despite the early hour. "I hope you slept well."

Anna huffed and stretched her arms over her head before responding to the elder sister.

"Mmmyea. Very well." The Princess smiled, eyes still closed. She adjusted herself so that she was facing the Queen and finally opened her eyes. Teal met ice as Anna looked at her lover.

"You're beautiful." She said with a smile. Elsa's own smile grew to a toothy grin.

"You're _beautifuller_." The Queen replied mockingly.

"Hmph." Anna frowned before hitting her sister with a pillow. "S'not nice to tease people."

"Oomph!" Elsa cried as the pillow hit her head. "Well, it's not nice to hit people with pillows, especially Queens."

Now grinning devilishly, the aforementioned Queen formed a thin layer of ice on her hand. She took her revenge by placing the now-freezing appendage on Anna's bare lower back.

"EEK!" The redhead screamed as she immediately shot up from the bed, a look of shock plastered on her face.

Elsa was grabbing her stomach as she laughed at the nude, shivering woman before her.

"Not. F-f-fa-fair." Anna complained through chattering teeth. "N-not f-fair at all."

Elsa calmed herself and rose from the bed as well.

"All's fair in love and war, my dear sister. And if I recall correctly, _you _fired the first shot." she said with a mischievous smile on her face.

The Princess rolled her eyes and stepped into her nightgown while Elsa conjured herself a beautiful ice dress. Anna beamed at the sight.

"I'm never going to get over that." she sighed, eyes filled with wonder.

Elsa smiled. "Good." she said. "I wouldn't want you getting bored with me."

The Queen placed a kiss on Anna's lips, eliciting a squeal of delight from the younger woman.

Pulling away, Elsa continued. "Now go get ready and meet me in the dining hall for breakfast. We have a long, busy day ahead of us."

Anna groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was work. Elsa heard her sister's complaint and tried to ease her worry.

"Don't worry, darling. No politics today. Until you are married, you are mine to do with as I please. So starting today, we are spending as much time together as humanly possible, doing whatever you want."

Anna's eyes lit up with excitement before she threw herself at Elsa.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you! We are going to have so much fun!" said Anna.

Elsa laughed and returned the hug. "Just go get ready. The faster you do, the sooner we can start our day."

Anna smiled excitedly and kissed her sister's lips in thanks. She skipped out of Elsa's room to her own, saying out loud all of the things they were going to do. Elsa smiled. She could feel her sister's enthusiasm from down the long hallway.

* * *

Queen Elsa ate her breakfast with a smile on her face, all the while listening to her sister describe everything they were going to do together. She sat quietly, simply nodding in agreement every so often, as the Princess outlined her plans for the two of them. It seemed like an eternity before Anna finally ran out of ideas, and by that time the Queen wasn't sure if they could complete Anna's list in a lifetime, let alone before the King and Prince arrived.

"It sounds like you've got the planning well under your control." Elsa said as she put her fork down.

Anna grinned. "Did you ever doubt me, dear sister?" This elicited a giggle from the Queen.

"Of course not. So what's first?" Elsa asked, lifting a cup of tea to her lips.

"Hmm..." Anna pondered, before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, I know! We need to go to your ice palace!"

Tea sputtered out of Elsa's mouth and she coughed in surprise. Anna looked at her sister with growing concern.

"What's wrong, Elsa? Do you not want to go there?" the Princess queried.

Elsa gathered her composure and wiped her face with her napkin before speaking.

"No, no it's not that _I _don't want to go. Well... I just never thought that _you _would want to, after everything that... happened... there." Her eyes fell away from Anna's gaze, full of shame and regret. "After- After I struck you with my magic... after I shut you out again..."

Elsa suddenly found herself engulfed in a hug from her sister, who had hurried over to her side the moment Elsa had broken eye contact with her.

"Elsa, I want to go visit _despite_ what happened there. You can't get over your problems unless you confront them head on." Anna broke the hug and put a hand on each of the Queen's shoulders.

"And despite what _you_ think about the palace, _I_ think it's beautiful. It's a true testament to how amazing your powers are."

Elsa looked up at her sister and smiled weakly before the Princess continued.

"Plus, a giant snowman threw me out before I could take the grand tour." Anna said with a taunting smile on her face. Elsa frowned, and Anna suddenly found herself covered with powdery snow.

Anna whimpered, paralyzed by the sudden cold. An evil grin formed on Elsa's face as she stood up and walked towards the door.

"You said it yourself, Princess. It's not nice to tease people."

Elsa looked over her shoulder to offer some parting words, and chuckled as she saw Anna brushing snow off of her hair.

"Once you dry off, you can find me in the garden."

Elsa was still cackling as she closed the door to the dining hall. She headed for the foyer of the castle, intent on waiting for Anna in the garden. As she reached the door, she was stopped by Kai, the castle's head servant.

"Your Majesty." The man bowed quickly before continuing. "A correspondence from Ørnhavn arrived this morning." He offered Elsa the parchment in his hands and she took it.

"Thank you, Kai. You are dismissed." The man bowed again before taking his leave. Elsa looked down at the sealed letter with dread.

The Queen continued her journey to the garden, coming to rest on a bench under a trellis. With a sigh, she broke the seal on the letter and began to read.

_To Her Royal Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle,_

_Let it be known that HRM King Aleksander of Ørnhavn and HRH Prince Mattias of Ørnhavn shall arrive in Arendelle in one week's time from the sending date of this correspondence._

_HRH Prince Mattias shall stay in Arendelle until the nuptials between himself and HRH Princess Anna of Arendelle, which shall take place on a date to be discussed upon the arrival of the King._

Elsa frowned. The letter seemed curt and impersonal, much unlike the boy she remembered Aleksander to be. It made her nervous. Perhaps Mattias had become a cold and calculating ruler as well. She remembered the boy he was; kind, loyal, and sweet. But that was so many years ago.

Elsa's brow furrowed and she sighed. The date on the letter indicated it had been sent the previous day, meaning the King and Prince would arrive in six day's time.

"Not nearly enough time..." she thought out loud. She jumped as she heard Anna call her name and looked to see the younger woman bounding towards her. In a panic, she crumpled the letter and threw it into a nearby rosebush.

The Queen stood up and straightened her gown while forcing a smile to her face.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked the Princess, who seemed to not have noticed her disposal of the letter.

"I was _born_ ready!" Anna replied excitedly. The two sisters locked hands and made their way towards Elsa's ice palace.

* * *

The Queen and Princess arrived at the massive staircase leading up to the ice palace after a rather pleasant carriage ride. The Queen insisted that guards weren't necessary, so only the driver accompanied them. Elsa's motives for dismissing the guards were not completely altruistic; the sisters had spent the ride passionately kissing each other in the privacy of the passenger compartment.

Elsa joined her sister at the base of the stairs after dismissing the carriage driver with instructions to return at sunset. The Queen latched on to Anna's arm as the Princess stared up at the palace.

"Elsa, I forgot how incredible this place was!" Anna said, wonder evident in her voice.

Elsa smiled and cuddled closer to her sister. Suddenly the contact was broken and the Princess was bounding up the stairs.

"C'mon!" Anna said, turning back to face her sister. "We're wasting daylight standing out here!"

The smile on the blonde's face grew as she joined Anna on the stairs. Hand in hand, the sisters ascended the icy steps.

As they neared the top, Elsa felt a light rumble in the steps.

"Did you feel that?" she asked Anna.

"Yeah, I think I-"

The Princess's reply was cut short as the rumbling grew stronger. Elsa looked up to see the doors of the palace opening. The sisters gasped as a large shadow began to slowly emerge from the palace's maw.

"Stand back, Anna!" Elsa reflexively conjured a wall of ice to shield her and her sister from whatever was emerging from the castle.

Anna, now behind her sister, peered over the Queen's shoulder and through the ice. She noticed the shadow was shrinking as the figure got closer. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head.

"Elsa, I think that might be-"

"Hi guys!" She was cut off by the figure as it waddled out from the shadows it was casting. She saw a twig-arm raised in greeting and laughed as Elsa let out a sigh of relief. The ice barrier disappeared.

"Olaf." The sisters said in unison, Anna with glee and Elsa with exasperation.

The tiny snowman smiled. "Oh, that's me!" He replied eagerly and spread his arms in anticipation of a hug.

Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She climbed the rest of the stairs along with her sister and met the animated snowman with open arms, taking him in to a warm hug. After releasing the hug, Anna spoke.

"What are you doing all the way up here, Olaf? I expected you to be down in the city with Kristoff and Sven."

The snowman giggled and responded.

"Yeah, I _was _with Kristoff and Sven! But after I broke Kristoff's sled again, he told me that he would 'put each part of my body on a different continent' if I didn't leave." Olaf seemed unfazed by the threat, however, and the smile remained on his face. "So I left! I didn't know where to go, so I thought, where do snowmen live? And then I remembered Marshmallow lived here at the ice castle, so I came here!"

Elsa was smiling with a hand on her forehead as Anna held back a laugh.

"Speaking of Marshmallow, where is-"

"MAMMA!"

Elsa was cut off by the rumbling of large footsteps as the snow golem turned a corner and ran towards her. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact, but luckily it never came. She silently thanked the gods as she opened her eyes.

"Hi, Marshmallow!" She said with a smile and a wave. She laughed as she noticed the tiara on the beast's head.

"Hi, Mamma! Welcome back!" He replied, his voice a deep rumble. He shot a glare at Anna, who returned the look without hesitation.

Elsa saw the interaction and laughed as Olaf spoke again.

"So yeah! We've been here, hanging out, you know, doing snowman stuff. We cleaned up the mess that Hans and those weasel jerks made!"

Elsa smiled. "Good work, you two. Now I need you to go on a special assignment for me."

"Oh!" Olaf gasped. "I _love_ special assignments!"

Elsa giggled at his enthusiasm. "Good. I need you two to guard the palace while me and Anna conduct Royal business inside. Can you do that for me?"

Olaf shot to attention and saluted the Queen. "Yes sir! Nothing will get through us!" He motioned for the giant snowman to follow him. "C'mon Marshmallow! Let's guard the castle!"

Marshmallow looked over his shoulder and waved at the women as the two snow creatures made their way down the ice steps. Elsa returned the wave and shut the doors before she heard Anna's voice.

"'Royal Business', huh? Is that what we're calling it now?" She playfully nudged the Queen's shoulder.

Elsa returned the nudge. "Yes." she replied. A coy grin stretched across her face. "And I take 'Royal Business' _very_ seriously."

Anna let out a throaty giggle and kissed the older woman on her cool lips.

"I know you do." She said. "But there will be no 'business', Royal or otherwise, until you show me the castle."

Anna turned abruptly and headed deeper into the castle, leaving a flustered Queen standing in the doorway.

* * *

The two women found themselves on the balcony of Elsa's palace after several hours of touring the building, as well as conducting plenty of 'Royal Business' in the Queen's chambers. Anna had to admit that while strange at first, the snow mattress added a certain something to the experience.

They sat in each others arms, watching the sun set in comfortable silence. At least, Elsa was comfortable. Anna seemed to be agitated; she was fidgeting constantly and her eyes were darting back and forth, focusing on nothing in particular. Elsa grew anxious.

"Is something wrong, Anna?" She asked.

"No, it's-" she started to reply, but the words fell short, and she sighed.

"I saw you reading the letter."

Elsa tensed her muscles reflexively. Anna noticed the movement.

"It was from the King of Ørnhavn." she stated. She didn't need to ask the question because she already knew the answer.

Elsa could only nod sadly. "Yes." she replied. "They'll be here in six days."

Anna frowned. Six days was nothing. She would have to use her time with her sister wisely. She looked up at the Queen and noticed tears welling up in her eyes. She raised a hand to wipe them away.

"Don't be sad, my love. We'll make the most of it. And don't forget, I'm never leaving. He can't take me away from you."

Elsa wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled down at her sister.

"I know." she nodded. "I know you'll always be here for me."

"I love you, Elsa." Anna said, cuddling further into the blonde's side.

Elsa tightened her grasp on her younger sister. She looked up at the sunset and admired the way the rays of light reflected off of the still surface of the fjord. Brilliant beams of red and gold sparkled and danced across the water. It was an incredibly beautiful sight, but it was nothing compared to the woman in her arms.

She smiled contentedly.

"I love you too, my Anna."

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya folks! See? Fluffy as hell, as promised. And it's gonna get fluffier in chapter 8. _

___Happy Labor day to my American comrades. For those of you that aren't American, Labor Day is a holiday where we celebrate the American Worker by not working. _

_I've decided to dedicate the chapter to explaining the circumstances surrounding how the sisters got together. I figured out a way to make it actually relevant to the story and not just fluffy filler. So everybody wins!_

_Also, the incredible fanfic "Stolen Ice" by Aesla came to a spectacular end last night. If you like ElsAnna and haven't read that story yet, you're doing it wrong. _

_Anyways, stay beautiful and keep the reviews coming. I love to hear from you. You can yell at me on reddit too if you'd like. Same username and everything. _

_One love, one heart,_

_-Cosmic_

_EDIT: Thanks to Revaq for pointing out an error I made. I believe I've fixed it; let me know if I didn't_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

The sisters made their way out of the ice palace as the sun dipped below the horizon. They said goodbye to the two snowmen still diligently standing guard at the base of the stairs and entered the carriage that awaited them. They once again snuggled up to each other in the privacy that the vehicle offered, and it wasn't long before Elsa noticed faint snoring emanating from the auburn-haired girl in her arms.

Elsa smiled warmly and held her sister tighter. It had been a long day and she was quite tired herself. She closed her eyes, hoping to find rest as Anna had, but sleep eluded her. After spending a few frustrating minutes trying to silence her overactive mind, she chose to simply keep her eyes closed and reflect on everything that has been happening.

She smiled as she came upon a memory; one of her favorites. She sighed happily as the scene from five months ago replayed itself in her head.

* * *

Elsa let out an exasperated sigh as she left the conference room. Her advisers were ruthless in their attempts to sway her decisions, and the Queen had grown tired of it. She had raised her voice to reprimand them for undermining her authority and they had quieted, although Elsa was positive that it was the ice that slowly crept across the table from where her fists met the oak surface that drove the point home.

The Queen smirked slightly. She hadn't planned on the ice, but she was pleased with the results.

Elsa walked to her study with the intent of finishing the day's paperwork so she could finally relax. As she entered the room, she felt a breeze and noticed that her balcony doors were open. Her balcony was where she went when she wanted to escape the realities of the day. There, she took in the sunlight and simply observed her kingdom. She began to wonder who could possibly be out there, but was distracted by the scents and sounds of the waning summer that the wind brought through the doors.

The Queen breathed the air in deeply. Despite her affinity for ice and snow, she absolutely loved the summer. Everything about it was wonderful. She savored the life that summer brought with it, as well as the warmth that the Sun's rays brought upon Arendelle. It reminded her, despite her isolated upbringing, that Jörð was not a cold, dead place. The summer reminded her of hope, and of love.

Mostly, however, it reminded her of Anna.

Elsa had come to terms with her untoward feelings with her sister. She knew that it was wrong, it was a sin, it was vile, but she didn't care. It was how she felt and there was nothing that could change that, even if she could never act on the feelings. After the events on the fjord, she knew that what she felt was true love, and Anna was living proof that love conquers all.

The Queen's face reddened with embarrassment as she recalled the origin of her feelings. She remembered the days immediately after her coronation, when Anna and Kristoff became a couple. She grew to dislike the man despite his kind and easy-going personality. Elsa originally believed she was just being protective of Anna. She did have a duty to protect her younger sister, after all. The only flaw with that logic was that Kristoff treated Anna extremely well. He was kind and respectful towards her at all times. There was nothing to protect her from.

Elsa only realized her true emotions when Kristoff and Anna separated. Outwardly, Elsa was sympathetic to Anna. Internally, however, she was glad. Her happiness that the two were no longer together trumped everything else. The Queen couldn't believe how immature her emotions were.

Anna began to spend more and more time her after the breakup. As time went on, Elsa's negative feelings about Kristoff diminished. It was then she realized the source of her unjustifiable animosity towards the man.

She was jealous of him.

Elsa spent the next week trying to understand her emotions, and after many sleepless nights, she simply accepted it for what it was: she was in love with her sister.

With that thought, she began to wander across her study and out the doors to see who was occupying her favorite place in the castle. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the Princess leaning on the railings, taking in the peaceful image of the city. Her twin copper braids swayed gently in the breeze, glowing with the sunlight shining down on her. The Princess radiated warmth and Elsa could feel the positive aura from the doorway.

She smiled. Anna really was the embodiment of everything that made the summer amazing.

Elsa approached the woman and mimicked her pose, resting her arms on the balcony. She then laid her head on the shorter woman's shoulder, taking in her presence. Anna jumped slightly at the contact before smiling down at her.

"Hi, Elsa." the Princess said, resting her head atop the Queen's own and placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Hello, Anna." Elsa replied. "What are you doing out here?"

She took a moment to formulate her answer. Elsa could practically hear the gears turning in the younger woman's head. For the time it took her to formulate a response, her answer was surprisingly simple.

"Thinking." the redhead responded.

Elsa broke the contact and stood upright, hands now on the railing. She looked quizzically at her sister.

"Well, be careful not to hurt yourself." She said mockingly. Anna shoved her lightly in retaliation. Elsa laughed and continued.

"So what are you thinking about?" Again, Anna's face scrunched up and the Queen thought she saw nervousness in the expression. The Princess fell into deep thought. After a long silence, she finally replied.

"Love, mostly."

Elsa was perplexed.

"Love?" the Queen asked. "What about love?"

Anna pushed herself off of the bannister and began to pace back and forth on the balcony. Elsa turned and sat on the railing to watch her sister. The younger woman was definitely nervous about something, but Elsa couldn't figure out the cause.

"I've been trying to figure out what it is." the Princess began to explain. "I mean, I _know_ what love is, I loved Mama and Papa, I love Kristoff and Olaf as friends, and I love you."

Elsa flinched at the last statement. She doubted that Anna knew about the indecent feelings that she had for her, but the statement made her anxious none the less.

"But I'm not so sure of what _true_ love is. I have an idea, but I need to be sure." Anna continued, still pacing and speaking animatedly. "Twice did I think that I knew what true love was, but that was all thrown out the window. Obviously Hans was a mistake, but Kristoff was different. At least I _thought _he was."

Elsa followed her sister with her eyes as the girl walked back and forth. Anna was opening up to her, so instead of responding, she simply let the Princess keep talking.

"The trolls thought he was my true love, Olaf thought he was my true love, even _I _thought he was my true love. I did love him, I really did, but it felt... I don't know..." She paused for a moment, trying to find the words.

"It felt empty; like something was missing." The redhead continued. "There was love there; we definitely loved each other, but it wasn't true. Despite what I and everyone else thought, Kristoff wasn't my true love."

The Princess stopped pacing and turned towards the Queen nervously.

Barely above a whisper, she spoke again.

"You are, Elsa."

Elsa's eyes shot open. She didn't know whether she could trust her ears. Did Anna really just say that? Did she hear correctly? She must have misheard her.

"Anna, I- what?"

A half-grin formed on the redhead's face.

"On the fjord, the day that... well, you know. I was trying to get to Kristoff. I thought his kiss could save me. But the closer I got, the more my vision focused on you. Even though the blizzard was blinding, I saw you, clear as day. I was so cold, I could barely move. I could _feel_ the ice coursing through my veins."

Elsa's eyes fell to the floor and she frowned. She would never truly forgive herself for what had happened. She only raised her head when she noticed Anna was slowly walking towards her.

"I couldn't find Kristoff, I couldn't see anything. But I could see you. It was like you were glowing; golden, the same way the fjord reflects the sunlight. Then the air stilled and I saw Hans raise his sword. Despite how stiff and cold I was, something inside me gave me the strength to get up and run to you. It all happened in slow motion, and the next thing I knew, I was in between you and Hans. I didn't know what made me able to see you and what made me able to reach you in time."

"Anna, what are you-" Elsa started, but she was cut off by her sister.

"What happened on the fjord haunted me. Something didn't feel right. I didn't understand. Until one night a few days ago. I had a nightmare about what happened. I must have yelled out loud, because I woke up and there you were, ready to comfort me. In that moment, I understood what had happened out on the fjord."

Elsa was sweating now. She was struggling to force the lump in her throat back down with little success. Anna was only a few feet away now.

"I realized that it wasn't Kristoff's love that saved me, or Olaf's, or Mama's or Papa's or anyone else. It was my love for you, _our _love for _each other. _Our love helped me find you. Our love helped me _save_ you."

Elsa shuddered as she felt a warm hand on her face. The temperature dropped suddenly and the Queen struggled to reign in her powers. She looked up and met the most beautiful teal eyes, glistening with the light from the Sun.

"Grand Pabbie said it himself; "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart." The act of true love that thawed my frozen heart was my sacrifice for you. My sacrifice for my _one true love_."

Suddenly, Anna's lips were on hers. Elsa jumped at the warmth she felt, eyes as wide as the Moon. She couldn't breathe. The contact was light, a feather's touch, but it was real. At least, she hoped it was real. The light flurry that began to fall around them was a good indication that it was.

Anna pulled away after a few seconds and looked into her sister's eyes. Elsa saw nothing but the purest love behind the glowing orbs.

"Elsa, you were my true love that day. You _are _my true love, still. It was always you. It always will be."

Elsa couldn't believe it. She stood there, mouth hanging open in complete shock.

Anna _loved _her.

As if the Princess read her thoughts, she took her hands and whispered.

"I love you, Elsa. I am _in_ _love_ you, and I know it's wrong and it's disgusting and it's vile and... and I've never felt happier"

Before Elsa could respond, Anna embraced her and their lips met again. The kiss was filled with passion and urgency this time. Anna was putting all of her feelings behind it, and unlike the first time, Elsa kissed her back.

The sisters separated and stared into each others eyes. Elsa wasn't sure if she could trust her voice, but she spoke anyway.

"Anna. My sweet Anna. I love you too, more than you could ever know."

An enormous smile stretched across the Princess's face and the two sisters fell into a loving embrace.

Anna was in love with her. They were in love with each other.

It was taboo, and wrong, and a sin, but Elsa didn't _care._

Nothing that felt this _right_ could possibly be bad.

* * *

Elsa opened her eyes, a goofy smile stretched across her face. The carriage came to a halt in front of the castle, and Elsa gently shook Anna to wake her. Anna's eyes opened and looked up at Elsa's grin. She yawned and stretched her arms to her sides.

"What's with the weird smile?" the Princess asked?

Elsa giggled. "Nothing. I just love you." she replied.

Anna leaned up and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you too, silly." she said before exiting the carriage.

Elsa's smile grew even wider.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya everybody. Here's the story of how they got together in my little universe, as promised. Still fluffy, still adorable._

_I kinda feel bad for Kristoff; he seems to end up heartbroken in most ElsAnna fics, and this one is probably no different. Maybe I'll give him an OC to fall in love with. I don't know. _

_I threw in a reference to one of my favorite bands (that I happened to be listening to as I was writing) in this chapter; see if you can figure it out. _

_Also, "Jörð" is old Norse for Earth. IN Norse Mythology, Jörð was a female giant that was the Mother of Thor; she was also the personification of Earth. So now we're learning! Yay!_

_Stay tuned, chapter 9 has some fun revelations and some more plot twists and turns (they're more like plot bendy straws)! _

_Love ya ta pieces, and don't forget to review!_

_-Cosmic_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

The following morning played out in a similar fashion. Anna decided that today's activity was an impromptu visit to the city. The royal sisters visited the bustling town on a monthly basis, but those visits were planned, which gave the citizens time to prepare for their visit. This way, the sisters would be able to see their people in a more relaxed and natural setting.

The two walked arm in arm towards the castle gates. Elsa was nervous, of course. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Arendellians had voiced their support of the Queen, she was still apprehensive about interacting with them. Her sister's excitement was contagious, however, and Elsa forced herself to relax. That is, until a familiar flying creature came into view as they approached the gates.

Elsa frowned. It was Viggo's raven.

Her mind immediately went into overdrive. She had instructed Viggo not to bother her this week. She wanted nothing to interrupt her time with Anna. The Queen knew that the man was extraordinarily obedient. What could have caused him to disobey her orders?

She came to a sudden realization: something must be wrong.

Elsa made the decision that she would have to abandon her plans with Anna in order to address whatever issue the spy may have discovered. She turned to Anna, an apologetic look on her face, and tried to figure out a way to make disappointing the girl as painless as possible.

"Anna, I'm sorry, but I suddenly don't feel very well." Elsa said. "I must have eaten something for breakfast that disagreed with me."

Anna's face was immediately taken over by concern for her older sister.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

Elsa hated lying to her sister, but this could be a national emergency for all she knew.

"I'll be fine." She faked a grimace and gripped her stomach. "I just need to rest. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can partake in our adventure today."

Anna frowned. "It's okay. I understand. Just go rest. Maybe we can do something together later if you're feeling up to it."

Elsa smile faintly. "I'd like that." she replied, and turned to walk back towards the castle, leaving a disappointed Princess standing alone.

* * *

Anna watched her sister return to the castle entrance. She was frustrated, of course, but Elsa's health was far more important than a trip into the city.

The Princess quickly began thinking of something else to do to distract her from the disappointment she felt, deciding to walk around the grounds of the castle until she thought of something more concrete.

She walked through the courtyard, stopping for a few minutes to watch the Royal Guards practice their drills. She stopped again in the garden to admire the holly bushes growing there, sitting on the same bench that Elsa had been waiting for her on the morning before. She looked into the flowerless rose bushes for the letter that Elsa had 'sneakily' thrown aside, but it was already gone, most likely retrieved by one of the groundskeepers. Anna was disappointed by the letter's disappearance, even though she knew the contents.

The Princess stood up and continued her journey. She started to hear the faint sound of music as she rounded one of the castle's many parapets. She believed it to be a lute and determined it's origin to be the castle stables. Her eyes widened. She had forgotten that Kristoff moved into the stables on the grounds when he was granted his new position. She smiled and headed for the stables.

Upon her arrival, she found the blonde man strumming at his new lute in a pile of hay, a hat over his eyes. Sven, his reindeer, was silently chomping away at the same pile. Anna giggled at the sight. Sven perked up at the noise and let out a happy grunt upon noticing the Princess. Kristoff heard the reindeer and sat up, removing his hat and looking towards his furry companion.

"What is it, Sven?" the man asked. The reindeer motioned towards the entrance and Kristoff turned to see Anna standing in the doorway. She smiled and waved at the pair.

"Anna!" Kristoff said excitedly, getting up to welcome the woman with an embrace.

"Oof. Hi Kristoff." she said as he wrapped his large arms around her and lifted her off the ground. After a moment, he returned the woman to the floor and let her go. Safely back on the ground, Anna walked over to Sven's stall to greet him with a pat on the head.

"So, what brings _Her Royal Highness_ all the way out here?" Kristoff asked, sarcasm clear in his use of the honorific.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Anna replied before getting a carrot from a bucket on the floor to give to Sven. The reindeer took it happily. "Elsa and I were supposed to go visit the city today, but she's not feeling well. So I decided to come bother you instead."

"Well, my furry companion and I are honored by your bothersome presence, Your Highness." said the ice gatherer before falling into an exaggerated bow while Sven did his best to mimic the motion.

Anna frowned. She knew they were just teasing her, but it made her feel bad none the less. She had been ignoring her friend since she and Elsa had discovered their feelings for each other.

"I'm sorry, Kristoff." she said. "I know it seems like I've been ignoring you, but I've been busy and so much has happened but you're my friend and you don't deserve to be ignored and I just-"

Woah, woah, slow down there, feistypants." Kristoff said with a chuckle. "I get it. It's no big deal, really. After all, you do have a country to run."

A relieved smile came to Anna's face. "Thank you for understanding, Kristoff." she replied. "It really means a lot."

Anna was grateful that things hadn't been awkward between the two since they decided to stop dating each other. She knew that he was still upset, understandably so, but she appreciated that he hid it so well when she was around.

"Any time, Anna." the blonde replied. He sat back down in the hay pile and gestured for Anna to sit on a stool nearby.

"So." he began. "What's been happening?"

"Huh?" Anna looked at him, confused and he shook his head and laughed.

"You said that a lot has happened. So, what's happened?" He picked up a carrot, offered a bite to Sven, and proceeded to eat the rest.

Anna thought about everything. Her relationship with him, her relationship with Elsa, her Royal duties, and her betrothal. She figured it wouldn't hurt to tell him about the marriage, at least.

"Well, I found out that my father promised me to a Prince from another kingdom."

Kristoff sat up in shock, spitting out bits of carrot.

"What?!" he said in complete surprise.

"I'm getting married to a Prince." Anna replied forlornly. "I've been betrothed to Prince Mattias of Ørnhavn. Our fathers were friends. We were friends too once, before my father shut the gates."

"Anna... that's-" Kristoff began, but he was cut off by the redhead.

"That's the price of royalty. Unless you are a direct heir to the throne like Elsa was, you are free to be used as a political tool." she said with despair.

"Anna, that's terrible. Is there any way out of it?" Kristoff asked.

"Yeah, but not until _after_ we're married." Anna responded.

Kristoff's eyes were still wide with shock.

"Anna, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what this must feel like." the man said sympathetically.

"It's okay, Kristoff. Elsa has a plan to get me out of it, but it can't work until after I'm married like I said."

The two fell into silence, unease thick in the air, until Anna spoke again.

"The Prince will be here in a few days, but for now I'm just trying to spend as much time with everyone as possible. So let's forget about it for now."

Kristoff nodded. "Okay, I can do that for you."

Anna smiled. He was such a kind and caring man. She knew that he would find his true love one day, and he would make that person incredibly happy.

"Thank you, Kristoff." she finally said.

Kristoff smiled. "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do."

Anna sighed before speaking again. "So what's been new with you and Sven?"

She sat in silence as he began to speak. Anna was happy to sit back and let Kristoff take her mind off of everything with his stories. However, there was one thing that he couldn't distract her from.

'_I wonder how Elsa is feeling...'_ she thought to herself.

* * *

'_I hope Anna isn't too upset...' _Elsa thought as she made her way to her study. Her mind was torn between thoughts of her sister and whatever it was that Viggo needed her to know. As she approached the door to her study, she heard movement from inside. The spy was already there. She opened the door and walked into the room, heading immediately for her desk.

Viggo turned toward her and bowed his head slightly. "Your Maj-"

The Queen spoke suddenly, interrupting the man."Spare me the formalities Viggo, my time is precious." She sat down at her desk and looked up at the man before her.

"What couldn't wait, Viggo?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing." he replied. Elsa looked nonplussed.

"Nothing?" she repeated.

"Nothing, Your Majesty." He affirmed. "The problem is that nothing has happened when something _should _have happened."

Elsa's brow fell and her mouth straightened. Viggo spoke again in an attempt to sate the annoyance that was clearly visible on the Queen's face.

"Several of my agents have failed to report."

Elsa immediately grew concerned. This could be a problem. If they were captured, they could be potentially linked back to Arendelle. Elsa would deny their existence, of course, but it would still create unneeded political tension.

"Which ones?" she asked curtly.

"Two from the court of the Southern Isles and one from Ørnhavn."

Elsa's nerves became even more frayed. She asked the first question that came to her mind.

"Does this have any correlation to the betrothal or the King and Prince's visit?"

"I cannot say as of yet." the man replied. "I have activated more agents to take their places and even more to determine their whereabouts. I can't say anything for certain until I hear from them. Ørnhavn going quiet could be nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence."

"Let us hope so." Elsa said. She then thought of Arendelle's security.

"If your men were captured, can they be linked back to Arendelle at all?"

"My agents are highly disciplined, Your Majesty." Viggo said. "They do now know that I work for you, and they would die before allowing themselves to be linked back to me."

Elsa felt her shoulders relax. "Good." she replied. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"That is everything for now, Your Majesty." the older man answered. "I will be personally traveling to Ørnhavn to make sure all is well. I will return when I have learned more."

Elsa nodded before she spoke.

"Thank you Viggo, you are dismissed."

"Your Majesty." The man bowed and walked out onto the balcony before disappearing from sight.

* * *

The rest of the week had gone by without incident. Elsa and Anna spent as much time together as was humanly possible, even inviting Kristoff to join them on one occasion. No royal matters had arisen and Viggo had yet to return from Ørnhavn. All was as well as it could be.

Now, the two sisters were in Elsa's bedchambers, happily recalling memories of the past week. It was getting late, and the King and Prince of Ørnhavn were due to arrive the next morning. The conversation drifted to the plans for the next day.

"So you won't be joining me in the throne room to greet Aleksander and Mattias tomorrow. You will be presented later that night at the ball celebrating their visit." Elsa explained from her position on the floor next to her bed.

"Mhmm." Anna said and nodded in understanding. She was siting on the bed directly above the Queen and was busy brushing the platinum blonde's hair.

Silence fell over the two again. Anna let out a sigh and Elsa decided to speak.

"Anna..." she began. "Anna, I'm so sorry this is happening. I'm sorry I couldn't stop this."

Anna stopped brushing and hugged the Queen around her shoulders, her hands locking right beneath Elsa's breastbone.

"Elsa, I know you did everything you could. But it doesn't matter, because no matter what happens, I'm not leaving you. Ever."

The Queen smiled at the reassurance and nuzzled her sister's hands.

"I know, my love." she said as a stray tear made it's way down her face. "I love you so much, Anna."

Anna smiled and giggled.

"I love you too, Elsa." she replied, hugging her sister with all the force she could muster.

Elsa quickly turned towards Anna and pressed their lips together. There was no need for words anymore. Elsa needed the Princess to prove her devotion through actions.

The sister's made their way onto the bed, faces still locked together. Their bodies moved together in a mournful waltz as they both poured every emotion they were feeling into the kiss. Fear, anxiety, sadness, hope; the women held nothing back from each other.

That night, they made love with an urgency that neither sister had ever felt before. After showing each other that everything would be fine through their passion, the two fell asleep in each others arms, ready to take on this new challenge.

Besides, their love had stopped an eternal winter. How difficult could stopping a marriage be?

* * *

_A/N_

_Plot, plot, fluff, plot, Pungent Reindeer King, plot, fluff, plot. Bendy straws, just like I told you._

_Hey folks, how's it going? Good I hope. _

_So Kristoff's here, Sven too. Viggo's back as well, and trouble's brewing. Or is it? I'LL NEVER TELL!_

_We finally get to meet King Aleksander and Prince Mattias in chapter 10. I'm rather fond of them. Hopefully you will be, too._

_I've written up to chapter 13. I usually write about a chapter a day, but I've come down with a nasty cold and really haven't been able to do much other than edit and post my already written chapters. Hopefully I'll get better soon and get back on the writing-wagon. After all, I don't want to exhaust my buffer with such a long way to go!_

_As always, reviews are welcome. Help me help you._

_Love and more love,_

_-Cosmic_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Elsa sat in her throne anxiously. The tension in the air was palpable, made even more noticeable by the fact that the room was several degrees cooler than what was comfortable. Elsa could see the breath of the guards and servants that lined the walls of the throne room.

She wished she would wake up from this nightmare. She wished that her father had never signed that accursed document.

She mostly wished that Anna was with her.

The Queen sighed, a forlorn look on her face.

Anna would not be present to greet the visiting royals as they had agreed upon. At Elsa's insistence, she would be presented later that evening at the welcome ball that was being thrown.

_'Anna is a special woman_.' Elsa thought. '_She deserves a special entrance._**'**

Elsa shook the unpleasant thoughts from her mind and came back to reality. The ships carrying the King and Prince had docked in Arendelle several hours ago. Dark red flags adorned with the silhouette of a golden eagle dotted the harbor. Now Elsa sat wondering why the King and Prince were taking so long.

The large doors to the throne room began opening almost as soon as the thought entered her head. Immediately, the Queen wiped all trace of emotion from her face. Kai entered the room to announce the arrival of the visitors from Ørnhavn.

The servant stood to the side of the doorway and gestured towards the maw before speaking.

"Presenting His Royal Majesty, King Aleksander of Ørnhavn."

Elsa's eyes widened in shock as the King began his entrance. He was adorned in the most opulent and elaborate robes she had ever seen. A flowing red cape trailed behind him, golden eagle on it's back mimicking the banner of Ørnhavn. On his head sat an enormous crown absolutely covered in jewels.

Elsa laughed internally.

_'He looks ridiculous!'_ She thought.

He slowly made his way to the throne, giving Elsa ample time to size the man up.

He looked nothing like the boy she remembered. His hair was still the same walnut brown, but that was about the only feature that remained unchanged. His eyes were a very dark brown, almost black. A large, bushy beard adorned his face. He was fairly tall, with broad shoulders and thick biceps, though it was almost impossible to make them out through the many layers of robes he wore. Elsa saw the late King Fredrik in his facial features, and recalled the memory of the man fondly. He had, long ago, been like an Uncle to the sisters.

The King reached the foot of the throne and knelt to one knee, taking Elsa's hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles. Elsa noticed that each of the fingers of his hand was adorned with an oversized ring.

"Your Majesty." Aleksander finally spoke. "We are most pleased to see you again, and in good health none the less."

Elsa's face scrunched slightly in shock. _ 'Did he just use the royal we? In a foreign court?_**'**

"It is good to see you again as well, King Aleksander. Please, rise. We are old friends, there is no need for such formalities." the Queen replied.

"Of course, Your Majesty. Please, forgive our brother's absence." '_There it was again! The majestic plural! Absurd!'_ "He was... delayed... at the docks. He will be joining us shortly."

Still reeling from the King's arrogant formality, Elsa finally noticed that Prince Mattias had not entered.

Suddenly, she heard a flustered voice from outside the room before a man strode in engaged in a conversation with no one in particular.

"-can't believe that. I'm a military officer! Can you believe it brother? They took my pistol! I love my pist-" the man immediately quieted and stilled when he noticed the occupants of the room. "Oh. Oh dear." he said nervously.

The man stood in the entrance to the room, face reddening more and more by the second. Elsa raised a hand to stifle a giggle, and King Aleksander rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Unbelievable." she heard him mutter under his breath.

Kai cleared his throat in an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation. "Presenting his Royal Highness Prince Mattias of Ørnhavn." he announced.

The Prince regained his composure and began to slowly walk towards the throne, just as his older brother did. Elsa, still smiling at his uncouth entrance, observed him as he walked.

Prince Mattias walked with a clearly forced elegance. He was adorned in a dark blue military uniform, much less formal than his brother's over-the-top display of opulence. A sword was sheathed on his left side, and on his right was an empty holster for a pistol, likely the source of his earlier complaints. His brown hair was trimmed close to his head and his face was clean shaven. His eyes were as gray as the stone that built the castle, but they still managed to be bright and full of life. He looked similar to the boy she remembered from so long ago, but much more masculine now. His facial features were angular and pronounced, and Elsa noticed a slight scar across his lips as he approached.

Mattias knelt at the Queen's feet and replayed his brother's actions, kissing Elsa's hand with unexpected tenderness.

"Your Majesty." The Prince said, and a smile grew on his face. "It is very good to see you again after so many years."

Elsa gestured for the Prince to rise before responding.

"Likewise, Mattias. You look well." She returned her old friend's smile.

Elsa meant what she said. Despite the circumstances surrounding their visit, it was good to see them. It had been so many years since they had seen each other, and Elsa was glad that they showed no sign of contempt towards her for not even so much as a letter over such a long time.

Elsa also imagined that she would be more hostile towards them given the reason that they were here.

She sighed with an unexpected complacency before gesturing towards the door.

"Come! You arrived in time for tea." she said. "Let us retreat to my study. We have much catching up to do."

Led by the Queen, the trio made their way to her study.

* * *

Elsa closed the door to her study and turned towards the King and Prince after the servants had poured the tea for the royals and retreated out of the room. She noticed the King relax as a wide smile appeared. He stretched his arms out to his sides before moving to embrace the Queen.

"Hello, Elsa." He said, hugging his old friend. "I apologize for the formality earlier, but you know how it is. Have to keep up appearances and all that."

Elsa smiled with relief. '_There's the Aleksander I remember.' "_I fully understand. Don't fret about it." she assured him.

Not long after the King let her go, she found herself in a much more enthusiastic embrace from the Prince.

"Elsa!" he cried. "It's been far too long!"

"'S'good to shee you too." Elsa said, voice muffled by the Prince's shoulder. Mattias released her and held her shoulders at arms length.

He chuckled and turned to his brother. "Look, Aleks, I'm not frozen!" he said, and the King laughed.

"Yes, it looks like our old friend isn't an 'evil ice witch' after all." Aleksander said with a guffaw. "A rather good thing too; I'm not very fond of the cold!"

Elsa laughed, though uneasily, and moved to sit behind her desk, motioning to the two chairs placed in front of it.

"So." she began as the brothers sat. "I take it that means you heard of the... incident... at my coronation."

Mattias nodded as he sipped his tea. Putting the cup down, he explained.

"Yup, pretty much the entire world has heard about it, and with good reason. It's a great story!" he said enthusiastically. "It's different no matter who you hear it from though. Some people say you did it on purpose, but we know you wouldn't do that. Some people call you the Snow Queen, others an ice witch."

"And others call you a god." Aleksander finished his brothers statement.

Elsa grimaced. She knew that people would hear about the incident, but she didn't expect to be called a god.

"I assure you both, I am no god." she said. "I am simply a human, born with a unique gift."

"And what a gift it is!" Mattias cut in. "The power to manipulate ice and snow to your will! Amazing!"

Elsa smiled. His enthusiasm reminded her of Anna. The thought made her wonder if her younger sibling was alright. She would see her at the ball in a few hours time, but the Queen still worried. As if reading her mind, Aleksander began to speak.

"So where is your sister? I was hoping to see her too, and I'm sure my brother is anxious to see his future wife."

The words made Elsa wince. She clenched her teeth together, as if being reminded of the betrothal put her in physical pain. She tried to loosen her jaw to speak.

"Anna will be joining us at your welcome ball this evening." she informed them. "She is busy getting ready for now."

The brothers nodded in understanding before Mattias spoke. His voice was timid, much unlike the way he spoke only a few moments ago.

"So, um. Elsa." he began as his face flushed. "D-do you think An- I mean, _Princess_ Anna, will, um, well, that is..."

Aleksander and Elsa both laughed quietly at the man's nervousness. Elsa chimed in to reassure him.

"Mattias. We are friends. You may speak candidly."

"Yes, come on, brother! Out with it!" the King added.

Mattias let out a short breath. "Right." he said. "Do you think Anna will be, well, _happy_ with me as her husband?

_'NO.'_ Elsa immediately thought, but stopped the words from escaping. If she were being honest, Mattias _did _seem like a perfect husband for Anna. His personality matched hers almost exactly, and she could see them together in another life.

But not in this one.

She raised a façade of happiness and spoke.

"You shouldn't worry, Mattias. I believe Anna will be perfectly happy with you." The Queen was reeling internally. The words burned her as they crossed her lips.

Elsa could see the tension leave Mattias' shoulders. The Prince let out a held breath.

"Well, that is certainly good news." he said.

His older brother laughed and roughly patted his shoulder.

"See brother? You worry too much." the King chortled.

"I suppose I do." the Prince replied. He turned back towards Elsa. "Do you think she would mind a spring wedding? I was thinking that we should have the ceremony on the day of the equinox."

The Queen's eyes widened, and she became slightly relieved. The equinox was four months away. That would give her even more time to try to stop the wedding. She jumped at the opportunity.

"I think that's a marvelous idea. Anna has always loved the springtime."

"Excellent!" Mattias exclaimed. "The equinox it is!"

"Well, now that business is out of the way, I believe we have some catching up to do." the King proclaimed.

Elsa nodded. "Indeed. How have things been in for the two of you in Ørnhavn?" she queried.

"Well, obviously, I became King, and I think I've been doing a decent job." Aleksander answered. "As for my brother, he joined the armed forces. Became Captain of the Guard. He's quite the military prodigy." Mattias blushed slightly at the compliment. Elsa smiled at the display.

"I suppose that explains your reluctance to part with your pistol, Mattias." She asked the Prince.

"Yes it does." he started to explain. "I know you have banned the use of firearms by all but the Guard in Arendelle, but I thought maybe, since I'm a friend, that the Harbor Agents would make an exception. It would seem that I thought wrong." he said with a shrug and a crooked grin.

Elsa returned the smile. The lack of real anger in his voice reassured her that her friend hadn't changed much. He still had the same carefree personality that she remembered from their youth.

"I'll see what I can do for you, Mattias." she said, and winked at the Prince. He returned the gesture with a toothy grin and nodded his thanks.

The trio spent the next hour catching up as friends do. They reminisced on times long gone and told stories about their parents' actions together. Elsa told them the story of her coronation and the two brothers listened intently, amazed at the incredible turn of events that transpired. As she finished her tale, Aleksander spoke.

"Well, that certainly trumps any stories we may have Mattias. I think we should go prepare for the evening's festivities."

Elsa nodded and rose from her seat. The King and Prince followed the motion.

"Right then. Please do make yourselves at home." Elsa told them. "Kai will show you to your quarters. I shall see you both this evening."

Aleksander and Mattias bowed slightly, and took their leave. As the door closed behind them, Elsa fell back in to her chair. Her brain immediately went into overdrive as she processed all the emotions she was experiencing.

Despite the happy reunion with her long lost friends, she couldn't help but be overcome with sadness. It was wonderful to see the brothers again, but the joy was tainted by the fact that one of them would be marrying her lover.

She was suddenly overcome with emotion as all her fears and anxieties came rushing back all at once.

It was happening. Mattias was going to keep Anna from her, and at the moment, she was powerless to stop it. The realization hit her like a tidal wave, and her hands met her face. The tears began to flow freely as a sob lurched from her throat.

* * *

_A/N_

_New characters, isn't that fun? I'm gonna have a damn good time with these two. I have big plans for them. _

_Violence is coming soon folks, so don't you worry. 3 or 4 chapters away, maybe. _

_Stick around, everyone!_

_Love, _

_Cosmic_


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Queen Elsa and Princess Anna stood just outside the ballroom doors, waiting for Kai to announce their arrival. The sisters hadn't seen each other all day and were glad to finally be together again.

After her small breakdown in her study, Elsa had absconded to her bedchambers. Even if she was an emotional wreck, she was still the Queen and needed to look the part. After quickly fixing her hair into it's usual bun and reapplying her makeup, she focused on creating her ice gown for the evening.

After attempting several designs, she finally settled on a slightly altered version of the one she created in her ice palace. The light blue of the dress was replaced by a dark violet color, and the cape was now almost black, even though it was still completely transparent. Elsa's powers often understood her emotions better than she did, and the outfit was evidence of that. The dark colors were appropriate for someone in mourning rather than someone attending a ball.

"I suppose it's perfect." she said to the mirror with a sad shrug, and left to meet her sister. She rounded the corner to stand by the ballroom door and was floored by the sight of the younger woman. The Princess was also dressed in a dark gown that seemed to change from deep crimson to black depending on how the light hit it. Her hair was down and styled into waves, framing her face perfectly. The dress complemented the auburn locks so well that it made her appear as if she was on fire.

Long velvet sleeves covered her arms and shoulders, and the dress seemed conservative as a result. The plunging v cut-out on the back said quite the opposite. Elsa felt her cheeks growing warmer as she took in the creamy, freckle-dotted porcelain of Anna's almost completely-exposed back.

"Wow." Elsa said out loud as she approached her sister. "You look..."

Anna chimed in to finished the Queen's sentence for her, twirling the skirt around as she did.

"Beautiful? Thank you, darling, but I once again must insist that you are, in fact, _beautifuller."_

Elsa let out a giggle and blushed at the complement.

"Thank you, Anna." she said as she quickly pressed a kiss to her sister's lips. Anna gasped in surprise at her usually-reserved sister.

"Elsa, not here!" She pulled away, looking around nervously. "Someone might see us!"

Elsa shrugged, a devilish grin overtaking her face.

"What can I say, I like to live dangerously." She winked at the Princess, who playfully shoved the older girl with a smile on her face.

The sisters shared a laugh, but quickly quieted as the music from inside the ballroom died down and the doors were pushed open.

"Here we go." said the Queen, apprehensively. Despite her improvements in social situations, Elsa still became easily flustered in front of too many people. Anna knew this and did whatever she could to help. The redhead gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled. Elsa returned the smile before turning to the door and putting on a regal expression.

She heard Kai announce her name and made her way through the door to the front of the room. She was followed soon after by her sister, and after a light smattering of applause, the music began again.

King Aleksander quickly approached them, Mattias in tow behind him. The King was still wearing the over-the-top outfit from earlier, while the Prince was dressed in a brilliantly white formal military uniform. Elsa noticed his pistol holster was now occupied.

"Your Majesty." The King and Prince quickly bowed to Elsa, who returned the gesture, before turning their attention to the Princess.

"Princess Anna. It is wonderful to see you again." the King said as he slightly dipped forward. He took her hand and laid a kiss on her knuckles as he had earlier to Elsa.

"It is good to see you too, Aleksander. It has been too long." the Princess replied. The King released Anna's hand and moved out of the way so the Prince could greet her.

Mattias approached the Princess slowly. Elsa noticed his eyes were wide, and a sheen of sweat was forming on his brow. She giggled to herself. He was clearly taken back by the Princess's beauty, just as she was earlier.

"Your Highness." he said, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. "It is so wonderful to finally see you again, after all these years apart."

Elsa watched the interaction, curious as to how Anna would respond to her future husband. She stifled a laugh when the woman rolled her eyes.

"It is lovely to see you again too, Prince Mattias." Anna said. The man rose to his feet, taking Anna's hand as he did and raising it to his lips. He planted a kiss there that Elsa could have sworn looked even more gentle than the one he had given her earlier.

"You look incredibly beautiful this evening, Your Highness." the Prince said. Anna blushed nervously.

"Thank you, Mattias." she replied. "You look quite handsome as well."

The Prince stood silently with a goofy smile on his face for longer than was comfortable. Aleksander and Elsa watched, amusement apparent on both of their expressions.

Anna, face red and eyes shooting back-and-forth awkwardly, cleared her throat.

"Oh, sorry!" Mattias exclaimed, finally releasing Anna's hand and stepping back. Aleksander chuckled while the Queen clicked her tongue and shook her head in exasperation

"Ahem." the Prince said, bowing towards Anna and offering his hand. "Princess Anna, I would be honored if I could have this dance."

The Princess looked at Elsa, not sure of what to do. Elsa gestured toward the ballroom floor. The sisters usually shared the first dance when balls were held in the castle, but this was different. Anna had to keep up appearances, at least for now. Elsa made that clear with her gesture.

Anna nodded her understanding before turning back to the Prince.

"The honor would be mine, Mattias." she said, taking the Prince's hand and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

"Shall we follow their example?" Aleksander asked the Queen, bowing and offering his hand in a similar matter to his brother.

"We shall." Elsa said, and took the King's hand. They made their way to the floor, standing near the Prince and Princess.

The waltz began, and the two couples began to dance. Elsa's brow furrowed with worry for her sister. The King took notice.

"Is everything alright, Elsa?" he asked. "You seem troubled."

"I'm fine, Aleksander" she lied. "Thank you for your concern."

She looked over towards her sister, trying to read her face to get a sense of what was happening. The two were speaking as they danced, most likely catching up on each others lives.

'_I hope she's alright.'_

* * *

Princess Anna couldn't help but feel happy. It was wonderful to see her friends again. She admired the way the two men had grown, having only memories of them as children to compare them to.

The King looked, well, kingly. His opulent robes and large beard made him look like a man with power. The Prince, on the other hand, still had the boyish charm and childlike glow in his eyes that she remembered, despite his masculine features. His uniform was well pressed and adorned with medals, and Anna had to admit that he looked quite dashing. He was also a very good dancer. '_Elsa's better, though.'_ she thought.

The two shared stories as they danced, telling tales of growing up, about their parents, and about their kingdoms. Anna became more and more at ease as the dance went on. Mattias was just how she remembered him to be; kind, caring, and full of life. The two were quickly back to acting as though they had seen each other constantly over the past fourteen years.

"So the military, huh?" Anna queried. "What made you do that?"

"I wanted to help my Kingdom in any way I could." he began. "Being royal is great. I mean, we get pretty much everything we want, just because our parents are kings and queens. I joined the Guard to repay my debt to the kingdom. Plus, I was always good with a sword and a decent shot with a pistol."

"Hmm. I think I understand." Anna replied. "You didn't want to feel like you were taking without giving."

"_Exactly._" Mattias responded. "Plus, I look really good in the uniform" he said with a wink. Anna rolled her eyes. The Prince chuckled at the gesture.

The two continued dancing in silence for a moment before Anna's curiosity forced a question.

"Have you ever been in battle before?" the Princess asked him.

"Once, yes. The capitol city was raided by privateers, and I helped repel them." Mattias said, pointing to the scar on his lip. "That's where this came from."

"What happened?" Anna replied.

"I made a mistake, and I almost lost my life because of it." the Prince explained. "I engaged one of the privateers in single combat. He wasn't much of a challenge, but I lost sight of the rest of the battle as we fought. As I struck him down, another came up behind me. I turned around just as he brought his sword down. I wasn't able to completely dodge his swing, and he struck my face."

Mattias stopped his story for a moment to focus on the waltz that was still playing. He dipped the Princess low to the ground before picking her back up and twirling her. Anna swore that the man was showing off. He continued his story after the interlude.

"I focused on my target and lost sight of the battle going on around me." he said, brows furrowing slightly with anger. "If I had been a second slower, or the privateer had been a second faster, I'd be dead."

"That's terrible!" Anna gasped. "I could never imagine being in a battle. I mean, I've fought before, but not in a _battle_. It must be scary."

"It is." Mattias replied. He scrunched his face slightly in curiosity. "Forgive me Anna, but did you say you've fought before?"

"Yup." Anna said with an enthusiastic grin. "I fought some wolves once in the forest. I used a lute to save my friend. Hit a wolf right in the head with it. Then I threw a snowball at an ice giant. Then I punched Prince Hans off of the deck of a ship."

Mattias stared at her for a moment, brows raised in amusement.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she said.

…

"_WHAT__!_"

"You punched a _prince_?"

"Yup."

"And fought wolves with a _lute?_"

"Yes." She answered. "I used a torch, too."

Mattias shook his head and laughed.

"As feisty and capable as ever, I see." he said endearingly.

"I do what I can." Anna said with a grin.

The dance ended, and Mattias separated from Anna. He bowed in thanks, and she curtsied in return.

"Thank you, Anna. I enjoyed that very much." the Prince said. "It was good to catch up with you."

"Likewise." Anna replied.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I will let you be for the evening. I'm sure this is as overwhelming for you as it is for me, so we can just enjoy the party tonight and discuss arrangements tomorrow."

"Oh, um, right, the uh- the arrangements. S-sounds good." Anna stuttered nervously. It was then she remembered that she would have to wed Mattias. Even though it was just going to be until Elsa could get the marriage annulled, the thought of being wed to anyone but Elsa for any time at all made her sick.

Mattias bowed and walked away, quickly getting lost in the crowd. Anna moved towards her sister, who was still speaking with Aleksander.

"Excuse me, Elsa? Could I have a word with you? Alone?" she asked.

Elsa nodded and turned to the King.

"Apologies, Aleksander. Please excuse us for a moment." the Queen said.

"No apology required, Elsa." Aleksander responded with a smile. "I'll be around if you need me." With that, the King left the sisters alone.

"What's wrong, Anna?" Elsa inquired. "Did Mattias upset you? Did he hurt you? I swear, if he-"

"No, no Elsa. Mattias didn't do anything." Anna said, cutting her sister off. "He's fine. He's still nice as ever, exactly like I remember him." Elsa relaxed, noticing the temperature had dropped slightly.

"Good." she said. "So what's the matter?"

"I just feel a little woozy, nothing serious, though." Anna answered, assuaging her older sister's concern before it could manifest itself. "I was wondering if I could leave the party for awhile, maybe take a walk and clear my head." Elsa smiled warmly before responding.

"Anna, you don't have to ask my permission to leave. You are just as royal as me." Elsa walked her sister to the door. "You can go, and take as much time as you need to feel better. I'll stay here and deal with the nobility." she said with a wink. Anna giggled.

"Thank you, Elsa. I love you." the Princess said. "I'll see you later."

"I love you too, Anna." Elsa replied, planting a kiss on the younger woman's forehead. "Feel better."

Anna smiled as she walked away, and Elsa turned back to the party. She could feel the eyes of a hundred noblemen and women, all wanting an audience with her.

The Queen gathered herself and walked towards the crowd.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hey everybody. Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I had a very busy weekend. But I'm alive and in good health, and it's full steam ahead!_

_Thanks for sticking around. You folks are great!_

_-Cosmic_


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

Anna made her way towards the castle gardens, leaving the noise of the ball behind. She hated to leave Elsa behind like that, but she had to get away. Under normal circumstances, she would have stayed and helped to celebrate the visit of her old friends, but the betrothal ruined that desire. She saw no reason to celebrate anything.

Anna's mind raced as she walked. A thousand things were fluttering through her head and she was trying her hardest to keep the negative thoughts from rising to the surface. The Princess was a smart woman, despite her normally aloof nature. She could recognize that there were some benefits of marrying the Prince.

First of all, marrying a friend was _much _better than being promised to a random prince or duke or nobleman. At least she knew that she got along with Mattias.

Secondly, Mattias wouldn't necessarily have to return to Ørnhavn. It was safe to say that King Aleksander would eventually take a wife, and that woman would produce an heir for him. It was possible that they could stay in Arendelle.

Thirdly, it would alleviate the burden of producing an heir from Elsa. Even though she didn't want to have a child with Mattias, she _theoretically _could. That way, Elsa wouldn't need to marry in order to have an heir. The Queen was still anxious in social settings, and Anna couldn't imagine what it would be like if she needed to find a suitor.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the marriage would help further conceal her forbidden relationship with Elsa. The sisters knew that if they were ever caught, they would be forced out of Arendelle, or possibly even executed. What they were doing was a sin; no one would approve of it.

Anna was suddenly aware that she was cold. Her eyes focused on her surroundings, and she found herself to be outside. '_Huh. Guess I was more distracted then I realized.'_ she thought.

The Princess continued her walk, heading towards the gates. '_Maybe a walk around the city will help clear my head_' she thought. Anna loved wandering the streets. She was always fascinated by all the sights and sounds of the bustling town. '_Even if it doesn't help, I'm sure it'll distract me enough to make me feel better.'_

Anna began to cross the bridge into the city, but stopped when she felt something hit her. She looked around, trying to find whatever it was that struck her. Unable to find the offending object, she shrugged and turned to continue.

She didn't take two steps before something else bounced off her shoulder. She quickly spun around to catch the perpetrator, but saw no one.

"Maybe I'm going crazy..." she thought out loud. It was then she noticed a sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like... muffled laughing? Her head spun, looking for the source. The noise grew louder, and she was able to determine that it was coming from above her.

The Princess looked up at the guard tower above the gates. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Prince Mattias, of all people, sitting on the roof. He smiled widely at the woman.

"Hey, you finally found me!" he said through now-unrestrained laughter. "I knew you were resourceful!" Anna crossed her arms and frowned in anger.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." she said sarcastically. The Prince continued to laugh. "So what are you doing up there, funny man?" she asked.

"Well, I was getting pretty tired of the party, so I came up here!" he said, as if a prince being on the roof of the guard house was a normal occurrence.

"Why up there?" Anna asked. "There are dozens of places _on the ground_ that you could have disappeared to."

"Yeah, but none with this view!" Mattias replied. "The city looks incredible from up here!"

"Ugh." Anna grunted, arms still folded across her chest. "We are in a _castle_! There are _towers_ you can go up to that look over the city, and they actually have _stairs!" _

"You are indeed correct." the Prince admitted. "But people could find me on those towers."

"I found you here, Mattias." Anna replied. The man smiled again.

"Ah, you did, but would you have found me if I hadn't hit you with those pebbles?" he asked.

Anna's brow relaxed and her arms fell to her sides. The Prince was right. She would have never seen him up there, even walking back.

"I suppose not." she relented. "How did you get up there anyway?" The Prince's smile grew even wider.

"I climbed, of course!" Mattias exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He then patted the space next to where he was sitting. "Why don't you join me? Like I said, the view is magnificent."

"Princesses don't climb buildings." Anna huffed in response, crossing her arms again. "It's not proper."

"This coming from the same Princess that punched a foreign dignitary so hard he fell into the fjord? Preposterous." the Prince said, goading her. He crossed his arms as well and raised his brow tauntingly. "I bet you're afraid, just like when we used to climb trees when we were little."

"I am _not_ afraid, _Prince_ Mattias." she yelled, emphasizing his title and pointing a finger up at him. "And if I recall correctly, it was _you _who was afraid of climbing the trees."

"Maybe. Maybe not." the Prince said with a shrug of dismissal. "What matters is what's happening _right now_ though, and _right now_, you're still _down there_."

"Fine." Anna said, walking back towards the gate, hands balled up into fists at her sides. She hated that his teasing had worked, but she couldn't let him think she was afraid. Competition was an important part of their friendship since they were little. Whether it was snowball fights, chess, reading, or even eating; if the Prince and Princess were involved, there was going to be a winner and a loser.

She steeled herself at the base of the wall and began to climb.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Anna finally crested the edge of the roof. She threw her hand onto the roof, latching on with all her might. When she swung her other arm over the edge, it was caught in a gentle grip by a rough and calloused hand. She looked up as Prince Mattias helped pull her onto the tower.

"Not bad." He said, taking in the sight of the Princess. Her dress was a wrinkled mess, one of her shoes was missing a heel, and her hair was plastered to her forehead by sweat. Mattias chuckled. "We'll have to work on your speed-" he was cut off by the sound of Anna furiously blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "-and your style, apparently."

The Princess reached down and took off her now-ruined shoes with a look of pure annoyance on her face. She threw each one at the Prince's chest before smoothing her dress and walking past him and sitting down angrily. Mattias, still laughing, moved to sit next to her. He sat down and rested his arms on his knees.

Anna turned towards him, brow still creased with anger.

"You owe me new shoes." she said flatly. Mattias bowed his head in apology.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. I will make sure that you are properly outfitted for climbing next time." he exclaimed in a mocking tone. He turned back towards the city, once again taking in the view.

"See? Worth it, right?" he asked the Princess.

Anna looked out over Arendelle. Of course she had seen the city from above, while in the towers, or up on the North Mountain. She had never seen it from this level, however, and something about it made her feel closer to her people, as if she were seeing it from their perspective, like she was seeing it for real. She couldn't explain it, but it just _felt_ better than the other views.

"Yeah, I suppose you were right." she admitted.

The two sat in silence for a few more moments before Mattias cleared his throat to speak. Anna turned her head to face him, but his own head remained looking straight ahead.

"Anna," he began. "I know this situation is uncomfortable and strange. If it's even half as strange for you as it is for me, then I'm sorry."

Anna frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted to have this conversation now, but she let him speak.

"I mean, we're friends, and we've known each other for as long as I can remember, and that helps a little, I suppose. But I still think this is bizarre. Unfortunately, you and I both know that we're stuck with this." Anna turned her head back forward and nodded sullenly in agreement.

"And even though we're friends, I feel like I barely know you. I mean, we haven't seen each other in _fourteen years_. That's a really long time. And don't take any offense to this, but I'm in no rush to marry someone I barely know."

Anna perked up slightly at that statement. The Prince sounded unsure. Maybe stopping the marriage would be less difficult then she imagined. She turned back to face him with a new seed of hope planted in her mind.

"I suggested to my brother and Elsa that the wedding take place here, in Arendelle, on the vernal equinox. That way, we have a few months to get to know each other. I'll stay here during that time, of course. I'm not going to force you from your home or from your sister."

"I couldn't ask you to stay away from your home either, Mattias." Anna replied. "That's not fair of me to do."

"It's fine, really." the Prince assured her. "My brother can run the country without me. Besides, I was starting to grow tired of Ørnhavn. I've already done everything there is to do there. I'm ready for another adventure. Perhaps I can find one here in Arendelle."

Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. Leaving her sister and her Kingdom behind was one of her biggest fears. Anna smiled weakly and patted the man's shoulder.

"Thank you, Mattias. You have no idea how much that means to me." she said, looking back of the city and gesturing outwards. "I wouldn't be able to leave here. I just love it too much."

"I understand." he said. "I know how much Arendelle means to you. I also know how much your sister means to you, and how much you mean to her."

Anna's eyes widened in panic. '_Uh oh_.' she thought. '_How could he figure it out? He's only been here one day!_'

"Wha- what do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"She told me and Aleks about how you help her train with her powers, and how she still wouldn't be able to control them if it weren't for you."

Anna released a breath. '_By the Gods, Elsa! Thanks for forgetting to tell _me_ that!_'

"So if I took you back to Ørnhavn, I would be making _two _people that I care about unhappy, and that's just unacceptable." Mattias explained. Anna smiled.

"That's very noble of you, Mattias." she said.

"So, what do you think?" he asked. "Does that sound like a good plan to you?"

"Yes, I think it does." Anna replied. The Prince smiled at her warmly.

"And who knows," he said. "maybe we can even learn to love each other."

Anna winced at the statement. She loved Elsa, and no one else. She could learn to love Mattias as a friend, but never anything more than that.

"Maybe." she lied. She justified the deception by convincing herself that love between friends was what he was talking about. The Prince smiled at her, and she did her best to return it. They both turned back to the city, taking in the view. After another small silence, Mattias spoke again.

"So, an ice giant?" he asked, and Anna burst out laughing.

The Prince and Princess shared stories on the roof of the guard house until the early hours of the morning.

* * *

Queen Elsa sighed. The Princess was handling the situation much better than she ever thought possible, but she was still worried about the younger woman. When Anna asked to be excused from the ball, it did nothing to assuage her nerves.

Elsa turned back to the gathering after seeing her younger sister off. As much as she would have liked to join Anna, she had to stay. She was the host of the evening, after all, and it would be ill-mannered of her to leave early. So, true to her word, the Queen entertained her guests, who all seemed to be seeking an audience with her for one reason or another. '_No one here seems to ever be able to just _enjoy_ themselves.' _she thought.

After an hour or so of speaking with the various noblemen and woman, Elsa was finally able to take her leave. She considered going to look for Anna as she left the ballroom, but decided against it; the Princess probably wanted to be alone with her thoughts. If Anna wanted to see her, then she would seek her out.

Elsa began to make her way to her study, reasoning that she may as well get ahead on her work while she waited for Anna to find her. She made her way through the hallways at a relaxed pace, casually greeting the many guests and servants milling about. She was stopped by a familiar voice as she passed the doorway one of the castle's various sitting rooms.

"Elsa! In here!"

Elsa looked inside the room to see a red-faced King Aleksander sitting by the fireplace. He smiled and raised a hand to beckon her inside. She noticed the glass that he held contained a dark amber liquid.

"Come, sit!" Aleksander said. "Join me for a drink!"

Elsa smiled and moved into the room. The King stood to welcome her, taking his seat again only after Elsa had found her own. He picked up a dark green bottle and popped the cork out with his teeth. He poured the liquid into another glass and offered it to the Queen.

"The finest scotch-whiskey in all the Council nations." he said as Elsa took the glass. "I had it imported from DunBroch after my last visit. It's from King Fergus' private stock."

The Queen eyed the glass tentatively. The dark liquid refracted the light of the fire in such a way as to look almost menacing; the strong aroma billowing from the glass only added to her unease. The King noticed her hesitance.

"Go on then, have a taste!" he insisted. Elsa raised the glass to her lips and took in a small amount of the fluid. The burning sensation that the potent brew left in her throat caused her to cough. The King bellowed a hearty laugh at the action.

"It's an acquired taste, I know." he said through his laughter. The two monarchs exchanged a smile.

"I can see that." Elsa said. "Though I'm not sure how one goes about acquiring such a taste." Aleksander laughed again.

"A fair observation, Elsa. I'm not sure myself." he responded. The two friends fell into silence, and the King took another sip from his glass. Elsa mimicked the action with her own. This time, when the liquid met her lips, she found it more palatable, and the warmth that it sparked in her stomach relaxed her slightly.

"There, you're getting the hang of it." Aleksander said. Elsa nodded in return. The King turned his gaze to the fire while his hand swirled the scotch around in his glass. After a moment, he spoke.

"I can't imagine what it must be like for our siblings; to have your spouse selected for you like that."

Elsa frowned, though it was good to know that Aleksander shared her concerns.

"I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky." the man continued. "We get to choose our own suitors if we ever feel the need to. I suppose I should be doing that soon. I am going to need an heir, after all."

Elsa's brow quirked in slight confusion. "Isn't Mattias the heir to the throne?" she asked.

"Yes, he is." Aleksander replied. "But he doesn't want to be. Although he'll never admit it, he has no interest in ever being king." He took another sip of scotch. "And that's fine with me. Military life suits him. If he'd rather do that then rule, so be it. So long as my brother is happy, I am happy."

Elsa smiled at the sentiment. "That's very kind of you to say." she replied. "Most monarchs wouldn't be so understanding."

"Mhmm." Aleksander replied. "You are correct. But he is family, and family is most important. You and I both know that."

Elsa nodded her understanding. Mattias was the only family that the King had, just as Anna was her only family. Their mother had died giving birth to Mattias, and their father succumbed to illness so suddenly. She frowned as she thought of the tragedies that had befallen both of their families. Aleksander saw her expression, and raised his glass.

"To our parents." he said. Elsa raised her own glass to his.

"To our parents." she repeated. They both moved to drink from their glasses.

"May they rest in peace." the King added before taking a long swig from the chalice. Elsa did the same, and the burning drink helped her ignore the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Aleksander once again filled their glasses, and the sovereigns fell into another silence. After several minutes, the King's voice rang out again.

"I'm afraid I'll be returning home tomorrow." he said. "I'm sure you have much more important things to do than entertain the likes of me. Unfortunately for you though, I'll be leaving my brother here." he said teasingly. Elsa giggled at the King's mock apology.

"Besides, one of us needs to be back in Ørnhavn to keep the people in line." he added, a serious look overtaking his face. "Don't want anyone getting any ideas."

Elsa cocked a brow at the man. '_What on odd thing to say...'_ she thought. Aleksander held his expression for another second before bursting out in laughter. Elsa quickly realized he was speaking in jest, and her own laughter joined his.

The two rulers smiled at each other, reveling in the jovial mood of the room. Elsa took another drink and sighed.

"This is nice, Aleksander." she said. "I forgot how wonderful it was to have friends."

"Indeed." the King replied. The crackling of the fire was all that could be heard for several seconds afterwords.

"I propose another toast." the King said, raising his glass a second time. "To old friends."

Elsa's glass met his with a light _clink_.

"To old friends."

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya everybody. Here's a chapter for you. I hope you like it._

_I'm gonna be moving to a new update schedule. Starting next week, I'm gonna try to do monday wednesday and friday. The chapters are getting longer, and as a result are taking longer to write, and I've almost exhausted my buffer. I need to catch up! As for the rest of this week, updates are going to be sporadic at best, and I apologize. _

_Bear with me, folks, fun stuff is coming!_

-_Cosmic_


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

Princess Anna stood on one of the docks on the harbor. Prince Mattias stood to her right, and directly in front of them was King Aleksander, discussing travel plans with the captain of his ship. The sun was shining high in the sky over Arendelle and the air was unseasonably warm. Anna closed her eyes to bask in the warmth that the sun's light provided. She opened her eyes as the cool breeze blowing in from the fjord reminded her that it was still winter. She caught the tail end of the conversation going on in front of her as she focused back on the task at hand.

"-favorable headwinds, and the surf is calm. We should be able to make it back to Ørnhavn in four days' time." the captain said. Aleksander nodded approvingly.

"Excellent news, Captain." the King said. "Ready your men. We should shove off as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty." the captain responded. The man bowed to Aleksander before heading back up the gangplank. With the captain's departure, the King turned towards the Prince and Princess.

"This is where we say goodbye, I'm afraid." He sighed before stepping forward to embrace his younger brother.

"Stay safe, Mattias." he said. "I will see you in a few months. And make sure you treat Anna well. Remember, a happy wife is a happy life!"

Mattias rolled his eyes as the King laughed at his own joke.

"I will do my best, Aleks." he said. "Have a safe voyage home, brother."

The King released his brother and turned towards Anna, taking the Princess into his arms as well.

"Take care, old friend. It was wonderful to see you and your sister again."

Anna smiled. "Likewise, Aleksander, and Elsa sends her apologies for not being able to see you off in person."

"Nonsense." he replied. "I am a ruler, too; I understand that work often comes first."

They continued embracing each other for another silent moment before separating. Aleksander turned to walk up the gangplank. As he reached the top, the ship began to drift away from the dock. The King turned to wave at his brother and the Princess.

"Go easy on my brother, Anna!" the King shouted back at them. "He may be a soldier, but he's still a fragile thing!"

"No promises!" Anna shouted back as she and the Prince waved their farewells. They stayed on the dock for several more minutes, watching the large frigate disappear into the distance.

Anna heard a sigh from the man at her side and turned towards him. His hands were clasped together behind his back and worry marred his features.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"I worry about my brother." Mattias answered, eyes still fixed on the horizon. "He thinks he's losing his grip on the throne."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked him.

Mattias turned towards her finally and gestured towards the castle. The two began walking back as the Prince began to explain.

"The political climate of this world is changing, and no nation is immune. You would never be able to tell from the outside, but there are talks of revolution amongst our people." he said. "They are starting to believe that there is no place for an absolute monarchy in our modern times, and they've been inspired by the recent rise of democracy. It started with the English Colonists, and then the French."

"I believe the colonists like to be called 'Americans' now." Anna corrected.

"Of course. My apologies." Mattias replied. "Since that mess with Emperor Napoleon, France is ruled by a constitutional monarchy. The king has no real power anymore, though I doubt it will last, considering France's history. The United States are becoming a strong nation, and their leaders are elected by the people."

"I know that it's been decades since the American revolution and our people have not taken any action against the crown," the Prince continued. "but the threat still looms. My brother and I need to be able to face that threat if it should arise. I don't know if our people would be better off with a democracy, but if I were to be honest, I do sometimes think it is the better option."

Anna stopped walking, a shocked look on her face.

"Mattias, the king is your _brother_. What you speak of is _treason!_" she exclaimed.

Mattias raised his hands defensively before responding. "Anna, I would never wish any harm to my brother or my kingdom. But perhaps one man shouldn't always have absolute power over many. It is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I know my brother would never abuse his power, but how can the citizens know that for sure?"

"I suppose they can't." Anna replied with a frown. He had a good point. "But they should trust their ruler to do what's best for them."

"This is true." Mattias answered. "People should trust their monarch, but the opposite is true as well. A king needs to trust that his people know what is best for them."

The pair fell silent as they made their way through the market district of the city. The busy merchants and shoppers payed them no mind, save for the occasional bow or utterance of "Your Highnesses".

Anna thought about what Mattias said as they walked. She wondered what her people thought of Elsa's reign. Were they happy? Would they say anything if they weren't? As far as Anna knew, her people loved Elsa and were fiercely loyal to her; but was that loyalty born of respect, or of fear?

The Princess turned back toward her companion to continue their conversation.

"What does your brother plan to do?" she asked. "What happens if your people want change?"

Mattias closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"My brother and I have decided that we will step down as rulers of Ørnhavn if that is what the people want."

Anna was surprised by the answer.

"I'm shocked, Mattias." she said. "Would you and your brother really be alright with giving up the crown just like that?"

"Of course not," the man responded. "but what we want doesn't matter. We're rulers, and as such, we have a duty to our people to keep them happy and safe. If they no longer want us in power, then that is what shall happen."

"Would it really be that easy?" asked Anna.

Mattias sighed. "I hope so. Revolutions become bloody more often than not. It happened to both the Americans and the French. We don't want Ørnhavn to be torn apart by war. If it comes down to it, my brother and I will do whatever we can to avoid an armed revolt. The citizens don't deserve to suffer the atrocities of war just because they want change."

The pair had made it back to the castle and paused just before the bridge leading to the gates.

"We love our kingdom, even if our kingdom decides that they don't love us back." he continued. "Even if we can't rule the people, we will do our best to protect them."

"I see." Anna responded. "I certainly hope it doesn't come to that."

They continued across the bridge, nodding to the guards that stood just outside the gates before crossing the threshold to the courtyard.

"I hope our people are happy with Elsa." said the Princess. "I suppose I'll never know."

Anna continued walking towards the castle, not realizing that Mattias had stopped until she reached the door. She turned to see the Prince standing a few meters back. His brow was raised curiously and he eyed her mischievously.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him. He smiled and walked towards her.

"Would you like to find out what the citizens think of you and Elsa?" he asked.

"Of course I would," Anna replied. "but how am I going to do that? I can't ask them; no one would answer honestly."

"That's true," Mattias said. "they won't tell _you_ the truth; but I know a way to find out how they really feel."

Anna eyed the man with cautious optimism. She was excited by the prospect of learning how her subjects felt about her, but wary of however Mattias planned to do it.

"Tell me, Anna." the Prince asked. "What are you willing to do to find out?"

Anna pondered the question nervously; the implications of the query made her mind race. What _was_ she willing to do? Knowing how people felt about her and her sister would ease a great burden on her mind and Elsa's mind as well. If she knew that people were unhappy, she would be able to make the necessary changes to placate them. And if they wanted revolution, she could protect Elsa; and she would do _anything_ to keep Elsa safe.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked Mattias. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Meet me here tonight, an hour after sunset." he said, before retreating from her ear and walking towards the guard barracks. He looked back at her over his shoulder as he neared the building.

"And wear something you can move in! Riding breeches would be best!"

"Wait, what? Riding breeches? Why? What are we doing?" Anna shouted back, but the Prince simply smiled and turned towards the barracks.

* * *

Several hours later, after the sisters had eaten dinner together, Anna changed into her breeches and made her way towards the library. She knew Elsa would be there; the room had been her go-to space whenever she had any free time. The Queen spent every moment she could scouring legal texts and historical archives, hoping to find a way to stop the marriage.

Anna opened the large wooden door and stepped in. There was no doubt that the creaking of the door had alerted Elsa to her presence, but the Queen showed no sign of interest towards the noise. Her nose was buried in another book, looking over the same pages she had read a dozen times before, hoping that something would magically appear to solve her problems.

Anna approached Elsa's desk and cleared her throat in an attempt to get her sister's attention.

"Hello, Anna." the Queen responded without looking up. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Um, no." said Anna as she rocked back and forth on her heels. She only came to see her sister in order to tease her. Elsa had once told her that she was rather fond of the way that she looked in her breeches, and Anna loved how flustered the Queen became when she was wearing them.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to the city with Mattias for a few hours." Anna said. The statement garnered the reaction she was looking for. Elsa's head looked up from the text.

"The city? It's dark out, and the guards will- oh." Elsa cut herself off and her face flushed as she focused on the woman standing before her. "Um, are you... is there... why are you dressed like... like _that?"_

'_Gotcha._' Anna thought, and a coy expression took over her face. The Queen was clearly taken aback. Anna pretended not to notice in order to string Elsa further along.

"Mattias told me to wear something..." Anna stretched her hands far over her head, causing the fabric of her shirt to rise and expose a tantalizingly small amount of pale skin. She lowered her arms and finished her thought. "..._flexible."_ Anna swore she heard her sister gulp at the statement. "I'm not sure why though."

"I... I see." said the Queen, a sheen of sweat beginning to appear on her forehead. "Well, whatever the reason, be careful and stay safe." Elsa stood up and walked to her sister before planting a lustful kiss on the younger woman's lips. '_Two can play at this game._' she thought.

She pulled away from the now-reddening Princess. "Hurry back, my love." she added with a seductive smile before returning to her book.

Anna blushed at the poorly-concealed lust in the Queen's voice. She would absolutely return as fast as possible. With a smile, she turned and left the library.

* * *

Captain Torvald Stenson of the Arendelle Royal Guard stood in a small boathouse just outside of the castle. With him were the four other men that made up his squad. They were the best soldiers that Arendelle had to offer, and as such, they served as the ruling monarch's personal bodyguards. Their duty was to protect Queen Elsa at any cost, just as they had protected the late King Agdar.

The five men were battle-hardened and time-tested, each having seen their share of war. After his promotion to the post, Captain Stenson had personally selected each man. They would obey his orders without question and fight any enemy to the bitter end.

Captain Stenson was lucky that his men were so loyal, as he would soon undertake a mission to protect the kingdom that would not be possible without them. If it were any other men, the mission would fail, and Captain Stenson did not fail.

At least not after the last time.

The Captain laughed bitterly as he recalled the memory. He had grown fond of King Agdar and trusted the man's judgment. So when the king insisted that a bodyguard was not necessary on that particular goodwill voyage, he simply agreed. King Agdar saved his life that day, for had he not told him to stay behind, the sea would have claimed his life as well.

'_Or_,' the captain thought. '_I could have saved him_.'

Captain Stenson sighed. The irony of the king saving his bodyguard was not lost on him.

He learned from his mistakes though, and vowed to never fail his duty ever again. Trust was the reason that King Agdar was lost, so Captain Stenson stopped trusting anyone's judgment but his own. He trusted his men, of course, but only that they would obey their orders no matter what. Above all though, there was one person he trusted the least:

Queen Elsa.

His mistrust was born during the incident at her coronation. The Queen cast her evil over Arendelle and abandoned her people to freeze to death. He had wanted to act then, to go after her, but he couldn't. The Princess had left Prince Hans in charge when she went after Elsa, and it was his duty to protect the sovereign, which happened to be Prince Hans at the time. So he stayed behind.

Then the Queen illegally voided Arendelle's trade contracts with Weselton and plunged the nation into an economic panic. She had cursed Arendelle over and over again in the span of a few short days.

Yes, she came back and thawed the winter, and yes, she proved that her powers were under her control with the ice show in the courtyard, but that didn't change any facts of the matter.

Queen Elsa was a demon.

She was a witch and a sorceress. She had cursed the kingdom after being Queen for only a few hours. Who was to say that it wouldn't happen again?

Arendelle was a proud and dignified nation. It's people didn't deserve to have to live in constant fear of their monarch.

Despite his thoughts, however, the Captain refused to act. He was a soldier above all else, and duty came first. Reluctantly, he served the Queen just as he was trained to.

Duty could stop him from taking action, but it could not stop the thoughts from festering in his mind. He found the need to remove the Queen growing every day. He would wake up in a cold sweat, dagger inexplicably in hand after dreaming about murdering the queen. His subconscious would scream at him as he stood at her side and he would find his hands on the hilt of his sword as his eyes burned holes into the back of her head. The thoughts plagued him until finally culminating when he found out about Princess Anna's betrothal.

Queen Elsa tried to keep it a secret, but he was her bodyguard. He saw and heard things that most others didn't. It didn't take long for him to figure out, especially after the Queen's outburst in her study. He broke in to the room after the sisters had left and found the betrothal contract.

The betrothal offered Captain Stenson the perfect opportunity. The contract meant that Prince Mattias was now in line for the throne. If he could kill Elsa and Anna, the Prince would become King of Arendelle, and the kingdom would be safe from the ice witch's wrath.

The urge to act was impossibly strong upon the arrival of the Prince, and Captain Stenson had to will himself several times to not strike Queen Elsa down at random. He knew that wouldn't work; her powers were too dangerous. Her magic was reflexive and if he didn't plan the assassination properly, his blade would never reach her flesh and he would be dead before he hit the floor.

Over time, he had convinced his men that the Queen was a danger to them all, so getting them involved wouldn't be a problem. Now he had a plan, which is why the five men found themselves in a small boathouse, crouching around a crudely-drawn layout of the castle.

"Her powers are much more dangerous than any weapon we have, so we need to strike quickly and carefully." the Captain explained. "We need to surround her and give her no means of escape."

"So what's your plan, Captain?" one of the men asked.

"We attack the way wolves hunt." he began. "Wolves are small, but in packs, they can take down prey much larger than them. They surround their target and overwhelm it with brute strength and greater numbers."

"The people need to see it happen so they know they are safe from the demon queen." he continued. "So we will strike during the Queen and Princess's next official trip into the city."

"We will escort them, as usual. I will be directly in front of the Queen, two men will be directly in front of me, and two men will be directly behind them. When we reach here-" he pointed to the bridge that connected the castle to the city. "-we attack. When the two rear guards step onto the bridge, the gates will close. They will be surrounded with no way out."

The men all nodded in agreement.

"I will cast the first blow." Captain Stenson continued. "I may not reach my target before she strikes me down with her evil ice, but I will at least distract her from the rest of you, giving you ample time to finish her and her sister off. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." the men answered in unison.

"Good." the Captain said. "Arendelle will soon be safe again, all thanks to us."

* * *

_A/N_

_THE PLOT THICKENS! DASTARDLY GOINGS-ON IN THE KINGDOM OF ARENDELLE! _

_Hey folks. Sorry for the delay. I started writing this chapter and eventually it hit 5000 words and I thought that was too long so I decided to split it up into 2 different ones (13 &14) and then I didn't like the way 13 came out so I pretty much rewrote it from the ground up and I wasn't sure about using real places so I asked reddit and they said go for it so i pretty much rewrote it again and fuck._

_I sure hope you like this one. As you can probably tell, it gave me a lot of problems. Chapter 14 should be out by the end of the week, but my life got very hectic very suddenly; a member of my family was diagnosed with cancer and I've been traveling back and forth pretty often. Combine that with work and it's just been a shitstorm. _

_But, in the immortal words of Jeff Goldblum, "Life, uh, finds a way." I suppose that applies to fanfics, too._

_Feel free to review and stuff. _

_Hugs and kisses,_

_-Cosmic_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

Later that night, Anna found herself just outside the castle, Mattias no where to be seen. She thought about her earlier encounter with Elsa and tried her best to not get too lost in thought about what was certain to occur later in the evening.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a sudden feeling that she was no longer alone. She spun on her heel and screeched when she found Mattias occupying the previously-empty space directly behind her.

"Gods, Mattias, you scared me!" she yelled. "Why would you sneak up on me like that?"

"I was here the whole time!" he said with a chuckle. "Just because there is no one visible does not mean that there is no one around you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Anna said, annoyance clear in her voice. Mattias laughed and shook his head.

"Come now." he said. "Let's head into the city and see what we can learn." With that, he began walking toward the gates, motioning for Anna to follow.

As the pair crossed the bridge, Anna finally noticed the strange outfit that Mattias wore. It was his white military uniform, but the pins and medals were missing. The jacket that he usually wore over the outfit was replaced by an ankle-length overcoat, navy blue in color and highlighted with white trim. It reminded her much of the uniforms that the naval captains wore. One glaring difference was that there was a hood where the collar should be. Brilliant gold buttons held the coat together, and a leather belt with an ornate silver buckle held two swords to his waist. The pistol that Mattias seemed so fond of was holstered across his chest.

As the two royals reached the city proper, Mattias pulled the hood up over his head. He turned down an alleyway before facing Anna.

"Keep quiet and try to keep up!" he said with a smirk. Before Anna could respond, the man was off and running.

"Hey, wait!" Anna cried, giving chase. "This is a dead end! There's nowhere to-"

Mattias reached the building at the end of the alley before she could finish the sentence. Instead of stopping, he simply threw himself up the wall and began to climb the building. After cresting the top, he stood and turned to look down at Anna.

"Come on!" he shouted. "You should be able to climb much faster than the other day in those breeches!" After he issued the challenge, he took off running over the rooftop. Not one to back down, Anna jumped up the wall with a yell and began her ascent.

She reached the roof of the building much faster than she thought she would, just as Mattias had anticipated. He was waiting for her at the top, and when she stood up, he started running towards the edge of the roof.

"MATTIAS, STOP!" she cried while chasing after him, but the man kept running. Anna flinched when he reached the edge and took a running jump. She stared in horror as he flew through the air and landed on the adjacent building with a roll.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Anna yelled. "You could have been _killed!_"

"Nonsense!" Mattias yelled back. "Now come on! Stop delaying and get over here!"

"No way. Nuh uh. Nope." Anna said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "I might chase you down an alley, or climb a building, but I am _not_ jumping off of a roof!"

"What's wrong Anna? Are you scared?" Mattias taunted.

"Yes!" the Princess admitted. "What if I miss? I could die!"

"I didn't fall." the man replied. "Now come one. Don't you want to learn what the people think of you? What they think of Elsa?"

Elsa's name got her attention. She did say that she was willing to do anything in order to protect her sister, though jumping from building to building wasn't what she had in mind. Mattias was her friend, however, and she trusted him.

'_He wouldn't make me do anything _that _dangerous,' _she thought. '_right?'_

"Okay, here I come!" she called out. She gulped and moved several meters away from the edge of the roof, giving herself ample space to come to speed.

"Okay, Anna, you can do this." she said to herself. "You were _born_ to do this!"

"One..." she counted, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Two..." she lowered her head and planted her feet back.

"Three!"

Anna took off running at a full sprint towards the precipice. When she neared the edge, she planted her feet and kicked off with all the strength she could muster. She felt her stomach drop out from under her as she sailed through the air. The Princess squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for her demise as she fell towards the ground.

The fall to her death didn't last nearly as long as Anna had expected, and when she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see the opposite roof fast approaching. She landed in a somersault, much like Mattias did, but instead of springing to her feet as the Prince had, she rolled several more times and came to a stop on her back.

"Ow." she groaned, still laying flat on her back. Mattias crouched next to her.

"Well done, Anna!" he said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "I _knew_ you could do it!"

Mattias righted himself and extended an arm towards the woman. Anna took the offered hand and the Prince pulled her up from her spot on the floor.

"So how do you feel?" the man asked.

"That was..." Anna paused. She took a moment to assess her body and how she felt.

Her heart was pumping faster than it ever had, her hands were shaking, her back was sore, and she was filthy from rolling on the floor.

To her surprise, she found that she couldn't care less about all of that. The adrenaline that was coursing through her veins made her feel powerful and invincible; it made her feel _good_.

"That was surprisingly fun." she said. Mattias smiled.

"Isn't it?" he replied. "Now we just have to work on your landings and you'll be climbing and jumping like a professional before you know it!"

The duo continued walking along the building they had just jumped to. Before long, they reached the edge and Mattias sat down, feet dangling over the side. Anna joined him and looked over the edge of the roof towards the ground two stories below.

"Where are we?" she asked the Prince. He simply pointed to the sign hanging from the side of the building. Anna read the words emblazoned there out loud.

"'The Golden Crocus'..." she said. "This is a tavern, isn't it?" Mattias nodded in response.

"What are we doing on top of a tavern?" Anna asked. Mattias leaned back on his hands before beginning to explain.

"If you ever want to know the truth about anything, you go to a tavern and listen." he began. "People will tell you their deepest secrets after they've downed a few pints of ale."

Anna's brow creased in confusion.

"I thought we were going to learn what people thought of Elsa." she said. "Shouldn't we be spying on, I don't know, noblemen? People with influence?"

"We could do that." Mattias responded. "But noblemen aren't the people that will pick up arms against the crown. They'll try to buy their way into power. The people in the taverns are the ones whose opinions really matter. They're the workers, the farmers, the smiths and sailors and soldiers. They're the people who can- and will- do something if they're unhappy."

Anna thought about what the Prince said. It made perfect sense. A nobleman would just bribe one of the Queen's advisers if he wanted something changed, but a farmer or sailor couldn't do that. They would have to fight for what they wanted, and that might escalate to taking up arms.

Her eyes widened as the thought of weaponry suddenly pulled a question to the forefront of her mind.

"Mattias," she began, turning to look at the man. "why are you so well-armed right now?"

"I'm a soldier, Anna." he began to explain. "My military training would never let me leave the castle at night and unarmed."

"Right." Anna said with slight disbelief. "I understand that, but _two_ swords? And a _pistol_? That seems a bit much."

"One can never be too careful." Mattias replied with a shrug.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of revelry. The front door of the tavern had opened and a group of patrons was exiting. Their boisterous laughter was loud and clear in the cold night air.

"Listen." Mattias said in a whisper. "Stay quiet and stay out of sight, and we just might learn something."

Anna leaned over the edge in order to observe the group and better hear what the men were talking about. A large, bald man had his arm wrapped around one of the others in the group, a tall man with messy blonde hair. It wasn't long until she started hearing her name as well as her sisters as one of the men, this one wearing the uniform of Arendelle's Navy, spoke.

"I'll say it if none of ye' will. Princess Anna is more beautiful than the Queen."

Anna inhaled sharply as the men laughed again. She heard Mattias stifle a laugh of his own.

The bald man looked towards the blonde at his side and spoke.

"C'mon lad, you dated the girl. What was she like?" he asked, slurring his words slightly.

'_Wait, dated? Are they still talking about me?'_ Anna thought.

The blonde took a swig from the stein in his hand before responding.

"She was one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met. Seriously. Just sweet and kind and caring. And yeah, absolutely beautiful." the man said.

Suddenly Anna realized something. '_Wait a second..._' she thought. '_I recognize that voice!_'

"Coming from you, Kristoff, that ain't saying much. You know more reindeer than you do people!" The group laughed as Kristoff shoved the bald man away from him.

"Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed in a half-whisper. Mattias looked at her, confused.

"Do you know him?" he asked.

"We used to be a couple." Anna answered, eyes still trained on the group of men below. Mattias' eyes widened in surprise as he turned his gaze back towards the group.

"I'm serious, guys!' Kristoff continued. "I've never met anyone like her before. She's perfect." Mattias chuckled slightly. Anna could feel herself turning red.

"Aye, apparently a wee bit too perfect for you, lad!" another man said, and the group laughed together. Anna winced at the frown that overtook Kristoff's features.

The laughter died down before the man in the naval uniform spoke up.

"Enough about the Princess, boy. I want to know about the Queen. Did ye ever meet her?"

"Yeah, a bunch of times." Kristoff took another swig of his drink. "She was always working, but once in a while she would spend time with me and Anna."

The men looked at Kristoff with wide, curious eyes.

"So what was she like, eh?" the bald man asked. "Did ice follow her every move? Was the castle full of snow? Did she freeze-"

"Enough, Johan." Kristoff cut the man off with a wave of his arm. "She didn't do any of that. She was very nice. Just like the Princess, just a little less..." he paused to search for the proper word. "...outgoing; quieter, you know?"

Anna smiled, glad that Kristoff had nice things to say about her sister.

"She was very pleasant." the blonde continued. "She was always talking about her work; about Arendelle, and the people. She really tries her best to please everyone. It's nice to know, actually; that the queen really cares about us."

"Hah, I knew it! Pay up, Nils." Johan cried, outstretching his open hand towards the sailor. "I told ya she wasn't evil, ya bloody idiot."

The sailor, Nils apparently, furrowed his brow angrily before slapping a handful of coins into Johan's hand.

"_Dra til helvete_, Johan." Nils growled. Anna gasped at the man's use of foul language. The other men in the group simply laughed.

"See Nils? The Queen isn't dangerous." Johan said. "She isn't an 'evil ice witch'" he paused for a moment before his smile disappeared, and he turned to the blonde for reassurance. "... right, Kristoff?"

"Right, Johan." Kristoff said with a chuckle before finishing his drink and throwing the mug aside. "There's no reason to be afraid of the Queen. She wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Good to know, I suppose." Nils said. "I guess that means she won't accidentally freeze me when I court her, then."

"Hah! In yer dreams, Nils!" Johan exclaimed with a chortle. "The Queen would take one look at yer ugly face an' freeze her own eyes shut!"

The men laughed at the insult, and Anna couldn't help but chuckle along with them. It was nice to know that Kristoff was starting to spend time with other human beings since they stopped seeing each other. It was even nicer to know that people trusted Elsa.

"I'll say though, what I wouldn't do to have a go at the Queen, eh?" Johan said. Anna gasped and her brow furrowed in anger. She grabbed a handful of snow from a pile on the roof and began forming it into a ball.

"Anna, what are you doing?" Mattias asked. "If you're doing what I think you're doing, then don't. We're supposed to be staying out of sight, not hitting people with snowballs."

Anna ignored him and continued to form the snowy projectile.

"Nobody talks about my sister that way!" she muttered angrily.

"She's so beautiful, like Freyja herself in human form." the bald man continued. "Such a pretty face on her, and those _curves_! I'd do anything to even get a look at- _F__Æ__N_!" He cursed when the snowball struck the back of his head.

"Bullseye!" Anna exclaimed as she smiled and pumped her fist triumphantly. "That'll teach him to show some respect." Mattias groaned and shook his head.

"Who's there? Show yourself, ye coward!" cried Johan, spinning around in an attempt to find the perpetrator.

"Relax, Johan." Nils said. "There's no one there. It's just the drink getting to yer daft head!"

"Aye, ye are probably right." Johan relented. "Best be off, then. _Skål_, lads!"

"_Skål_, Johan." the group replied as they all headed in separate directions. Kristoff lingered for another few seconds, looking around. He let out a deep sigh. The puff of steam that his breath formed dissipated and he began walking toward the castle with a forlorn look on his face.

Anna frowned. She still felt guilty about leaving him, especially since she couldn't tell him why.

"Did you hear anything helpful?" Mattias asked her. He spoke at a normal volume now that stealth wasn't necessary.

Anna thought about what she had overheard. She was surprised to find Kristoff there and was even more surprised to hear him defending her and Elsa, especially after she had broken his heart. The fact that most of the men echoed his sentiments about the Queen was a relief. It was only a small group of men, but they were a good representation of average citizens.

"Yes, I think I did." Anna responded. Mattias smiled.

"See? I told you that you would learn something." the Prince said smugly.

"You were right." she replied. "Bizarre methodology aside, I heard what I needed to hear."

"I'm glad." the man said with a smile and crossed his arms across his chest. "Now tell me about that Kristoff fellow."

Anna blushed. She knew this question was coming the second she recognized her ex-flame.

"He's the Royal Ice Master and Deliverer." the Princess replied. Mattias scrunched his nose up quizzically.

"That's a real title?" he asked. "Can't Elsa produce all the ice Arendelle could ever need and then some?"

"Yes, it is a real title and yes, she could." Anna responded. "Elsa gave him the title after he helped me stop Prince Hans."

"I see." Mattias said. "And you... _dated_ him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Interesting." Mattias replied. He stood up and stretched before extending his arm out to help Anna up. "Well then, I suppose we should be getting back to the castle."

"Yes, we should." Anna said as the Prince hoisted her upright. "I told Elsa that I wouldn't stay out too late."

"Let's get going then." Mattias said. He looked over the edge of the roof once more, scanning his eyes up and down the street before turning back to Anna.

"I think we can simply walk back now." he said, and walked to the side of the building. He motioned for Anna to follow as he began climbing down the building's exterior. Once they were both on the ground, they began to walk back towards the castle. They were silent for several minutes, save for the crunching of the snow under their feet, before Mattias spoke again.

"So what happened with you and Kristoffer?" he asked.

"First of all, his name is Kristoff." Anna replied. "Second of all, that's none of your business."

"Sorry, just curious." the Prince said defensively. "It's just that- well... oh, never mind."

"Go ahead, just say it." Anna said with a grunt of annoyance. Mattias stopped walking and lowered his hood before looking at her.

"Well, I saw you frown when those men said you were too perfect for him." Mattias said. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Anna was surprised. She was expecting a joke about a Princess being courted by a commoner; not worry for her well-being. She looked into the Prince's eyes, and saw genuine concern there. With a sigh, she relented and began to explain.

"We were together for a little over a week, right after Elsa's coronation." she said. "It was... nice. We had fun together. He's a genuinely nice person. He's funny, and caring, and even though he smells pretty bad on occasion, he was fun to be around and..."

Anna sighed and her eyes fell.

"...and we loved each other."

"If you loved each other, why aren't you together anymore?" Mattias asked.

"I didn't love him the way he loved me." she replied sadly. "It took me awhile, but I realized that he wasn't my true love, and I would never be able to give him the affection he deserved. It would have been unfair of me to let him think otherwise. So I ended it."

"I see." Mattias said. The pair once again began walking towards the castle.

"Besides," Anna continued. "even if we were still together, we would have to stop seeing each other because of the stupid betrothal." Mattias raised an eyebrow and shot her a questioning look. She rolled her eyes as she turned to him.

"No offense." she added.

"None taken." Mattias said with a smile. "I understand."

The two completed their journey to the castle in silence. Once they reached the foyer, Mattias began to speak again.

"Thank you for accompanying me tonight, Anna." he said. "Hopefully we were able to alleviate some of your concerns."

"We were." Anna responded. "Thank you for letting me come along. I have to say, I had a good time."

"I'm glad to hear that." the Prince replied. "We'll have to do this again sometime. Perhaps two days from now?"

"I'd like that." Anna said as she turned towards the stairs. "Goodnight, Mattias."

"Goodnight, Anna."

The Prince turned to walk towards the guest chambers while Anna made her way upstairs to find Elsa. She couldn't wait to tell her about what she had heard.

'_Maybe not the lewd parts though.'_ Anna thought.

* * *

Queen Elsa sat in the library mindlessly thumbing through the same book of legal statutes that she had a dozen times before. She had long ago given up on finding anything of use in this particular text, but she was too lost in her mind to do anything else.

Anna being alone with Mattias made her anxious. He was, after all, her competition. Elsa knew that Anna would never do anything to betray her, but she was uneasy none the less. As such, she continued to search the pages of the book while thoughts of her sister flitted through her mind.

Anna's attempt to seduce her before the younger woman had left had been _very_ successful, and the Queen now anxiously awaited her return. The Princess had only been gone for a few minutes at this point, but to Elsa, it seemed like hours. Elsa had done everything she could to insure that Anna would be back as soon as as possible, but even that wasn't soon enough.

Elsa's journey into the more obscene parts of her mind was interrupted by a light tapping at the window. She looked for the source of the offending noise but saw nothing but the blackness of night outside of the glass. She turned back to her book convinced that her mind was playing games with her.

A moment later, Elsa heard more tapping coming from the window. This time, she got up and went to the window to investigate. The opened the glass and discovered why she hadn't seen anything through the pane the first time.

A stark black raven was perched on the window sill, barely visible against the backdrop of night.

"Viggo..." she muttered. "What could he possibly need at this hour?"

She began to turn towards her desk to wait for the man's arrival, but stopped herself when she noticed a piece of parchment tied to the raven's foot. She held out her arm and the bird jumped onto it. Elsa removed the paper from the bird's leg. It squawked loudly at her before jumping out onto the window sill and flying away.

_'Rude...'_ she thought. Elsa unfurled the parchment and began to read.

_E-_

_Found Ørnhavn agent dead in safehouse. No sign of physical struggle. Suggests poison._

_He discovered something important. I am investigating. New agent activated._

_Traveling to Southern Isles soon. Trail leads there. Something major happening. _

_Possible threat, though unsure of specifics. Be wary._

_Will send updates as I learn more._

_-V_

"Oh no." Elsa said aloud. This wasn't good.

Elsa knew that cutting off Weselton and the Southern Isles would paint a target on her back. So far, the only threats had been in the form of legal action from Weselton, but if Hans had taught her anything, it was that the possibility of violence was always present.

Elsa placed the missive into the fireplace and watched the flames turn the paper to ash. Worry creased her brow. She trusted Viggo, and if he believed a threat was present, she was inclined to believe him. Her thoughts once again fell on Anna, who was still out in the dark with a man who, for all intents and purposes, may as well be a stranger.

The temperature in the room began to fall as Elsa walked back towards the window. She stared out into the night as frost crept across the glass.

Elsa thought about what could possibly be lurking out there. What dangers were waiting to present themselves? The thought of Anna being hurt made her upset, but the sadness was quickly overtaken by anger.

The ice that now completely coated the room slowly became a dark crimson to match Elsa's anger. Her teeth clenched and her fists balled with fury at the thought of someone trying to hurt her sister. Loud hissing could be heard as the ice around her began to crack and splinter. The sounds caught her attention, and she closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

"Calm down, Elsa." she thought aloud. "_No one_ is going to hurt her."

The Queen regained control of her magic and the ice receded. Her powers had protected her in the past, and now she needed them to protect Anna. She had to maintain control. She _had_ to protect Anna, and she would.

No matter what.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya folks. I'm alive, don't worry. Here's a chapter with some more plot stuff and character exposition and whatever. I enjoyed writing this one quite a bit. _

_It also has more learning in it!_

_**Dra til helvete-** go to hell_

_**faen- **fuck_

_**Freyja-** old norse for "The Lady";a goddess associated with love, sexuality, and beauty (among other things)_

_Isn't learning neat?_

_Anyway, thanks for bearing with me folks, as I said last time, my life has gotten pretty friggin hectic, but I'm gonna try to get out at least one chapter a week. _

_Much love, _

_-Cosmic_


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

Princess Anna raced up the stairs of Arendelle castle, eager to tell her sister all about her journey into the city. She considered changing out of the now-dirty riding breeches that she was adorned in and stepped into her bedchambers to find some new clothes. Before she could actually clean herself up, she remembered her last interaction with Elsa; the way the Queen looked at her, the flustered look on her face, the way she kissed her. She ultimately decided to keep the outfit on with the hopes of eliciting the same reaction as before.

Anna left her room and headed back towards the library, where the Queen was undoubtedly still hard at work. The woman approached the large, wooden door and reached out to grab the handle. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and immediately felt a stabbing pain in her hand.

"Ahh!" she cried out as she recoiled her hand. Anna heard hissing from where her hand had just been and saw steam rising off of the metal.

"It's frozen..." she said, rubbing her hand in an attempt to warm it up. Anna rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Elsa? Are you alright?" she asked out loud. "The door handle is frozen! I can't get in!"

Suddenly, the door swung open and a gust of cold air burst through the open portal. Elsa stood in the doorway, eyes laced with panic. Upon seeing Anna, the Queen let out a large sigh of relief and threw her arms around her younger sister.

"Anna, thank the gods you're alright!" Elsa said as she embraced the Princess.

"Yeah, I'm fine Elsa." Anna replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just... I had a bad feeling." Elsa answered, covering up the real cause of her nervousness. "I felt like something bad had happened."

"Well I assure you, I'm fine." Anna said as she took a step away from the Queen. She put her arms out to the side and spun around to show her sister that she was uninjured. "See?"

Elsa's only response was to embrace the Princess again and kiss her lovingly on the lips. After breaking the contact, Anna looked into the library to see that it was coated in ice.

"Is that why the library is frozen?" she asked. "Because you were worried about me?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow questioningly before turning to look back into the room. Her other brow raised in shock and she began to will away the ice.

"Um, it would appear that way, yes." Elsa responded with embarrassment as the ice evaporated and the temperature began to rise. She turned back to face Anna and took note of the woman's condition.

Her hair was mussed up, her clothes were ruffled, and her face and hands were caked with dirt and sweat. Elsa's eyes wandered up and down her body as she took in the sight. Anna's disheveled appearance made her look ruggedly handsome, and Elsa was losing the struggle to keep her desires in check. She thought about their previous encounter in the library, particularly the way Anna had stretched so enticingly. The arousal she felt from before was back in full force. With a seductive look, she placed a hand on Anna's chest.

"I seem to be unable to control myself when it comes to you." Elsa said, her voice dripping with lust. Anna missed the innuendo, however, and began to speak.

"Elsa, I have to tell you all about-" An intense kiss cut her sentence short. Once Anna realized what was happening, she let out a small moan and leaned into the contact. A few seconds later it was over, and Elsa moved back from her, placing a single finger over the lips that her own were just occupying.

"Later." she said in what Anna believed to be the most authoritative tone that the Queen had ever spoken with.

"For now, come with me. I have _need_ of you."

Elsa turned and walked regally down the hallway towards her bedchambers, leaving a stunned Anna behind. Once the Princess's mind caught up with her, she immediately ran after her sister. She would have to talk to Elsa about what made her so nervous, but that could wait.

For now, her Queen needed her, and that trumped all else.

* * *

An hour later, a panting Queen Elsa laid on top of the covers of her bed. A sheen of sweat covered her nude figure and her body was still tingling from her sister's touch. She turned her head and saw that Anna's place in bed was vacant, though the warmth from Anna's body still radiated from the sheets. Elsa turned over again and found her sister leaning against the large, triangular window frame and gazing out into the night. Elsa pushed herself further back on the bed until she was sitting against the headboard. The noise of her shuffling caused Anna to turn towards her, and Elsa gasped lightly when their eyes met.

The Princess was still nude, save for her riding jacket, which was kept on at Elsa's request. Her wavy auburn hair was elegantly draped over her shoulders and breasts, covering them while leaving just enough exposed to set Elsa alight. The way the moonlight reflected off of her porcelain skin made her appear to be glowing. The Queen's breath hitched and Anna began to look concerned.

"Is everything alright, Elsa?" the Princess asked. Elsa smiled.

"Of course, my love." the Queen answered. "I was just trying to determine how it is that anyone could be as beautiful as you are."

Anna rolled her eyes and dismissed the compliment with a wave. She could feel her cheeks heating up as they became a deep shade of red. The Princess walked over to her lover and climbed onto the bed before positioning herself so she was straddling the Queen. She cupped her older sisters cheeks in her hands and pushed her warms lips against Elsa's perpetually-cool ones. Elsa let out a small moan and placed her own hands on top of Anna's. Before long, Anna pulled away.

"Thank you, darling," she said with a smile. "but you are much more beautiful than I could ever be, by far." It was Elsa's turn to blush as her younger sister kissed her again.

"Did I do well by you tonight, Your Majesty?" Anna asked, using Elsa's official title as she so often did in the bedroom.

"Mmm, yes." Elsa answered with a seductive grin as she straightened the lapels of Anna's coat. "You did _very_ well."

"Anything for you, Your Majesty." Anna placed a kiss on Elsa's hand before jumping back excitedly. "Now let me tell you about what Mattias and I did tonight!"

"Okay, okay!" Elsa replied with a chuckle. "You have my full attention."

Anna took a deep breath and began to explain the happenings of the evening.

"So we went into the town and Mattias had this _really_ weird hood-thing on and all these weapons and we climbed a building and ran across the roof and Mattias actually _jumped_ over an alley from one roof to the next and I actually did it too and we landed on a-"

"Wait, stop." Elsa interjected. "You jumped from one building to another?"

"Yup."

"_Over _an alley?"

"Yes."

"Are you _crazy_?" Elsa cried. "You could have been _killed!_"

"That's what I said!" Anna replied. "I told Mattias he was insane but then he said I should do it and I did and it actually ended up being really fun!"

"Ugh, alright." Elsa said as she put a hand over her forehead. "Then what?"

"Well, then we were on top of 'The Golden Crocus' and Mattias said we would here stuff that the people thought about us so we sat on the edge of the roof and listened to the people that came out, and Kristoff was there! He was with some people, and a sailor in the Navy, and they were talking about us! They said that we were pretty and Kristoff said you were really nice and they were all glad that you were nice and they think you're beautiful like _Freyja_ and- MMPH!"

"Anna, slow down!" Elsa said, putting a hand over her sister's mouth. "Take a breath, please!" Anna was notorious for her rambling, and Elsa was afraid that if she didn't stop her, she would suffocate. Anna ripped the hand from her face and smiled at Elsa before grabbing the Queen's cheeks.

"Elsa, they _like_ us!" the Princess said excitedly. "They think you're a good queen and you're doing a good job and they're _happy!_"

"Anna, that's..."

Elsa didn't know what it was. The news made her happy, and a sense of relief that she didn't know she needed washed over her. She had always worried that people were afraid of her, especially after Viggo had told her that there were murmurs of discontent among the populous. That was months ago, however; maybe the holdouts were finally warming up to her.

"That's really good to hear, actually." Elsa finally replied. Anna squealed with delight.

"I know, right?" she said. "I was so nervous that people didn't like us, especially after Mattias told me that the people in Ørnhavn might not want to have a king anymore, and that Aleksander was afraid of-"

"Wait, what did you say?" Elsa asked, once again cutting the Princess off mid-sentence.

"Mattias told me that his brother was afraid that his people might revolt; that they may want a new government." Anna replied.

Elsa was perplexed. Surely Viggo would have known if there were talks of revolution in Ørnhavn, and he most certainly would tell her immediately. '_Maybe this has something to do with his dead agent.' s_he thought. She would have to discuss this with him when he returned from the Southern Isles.

"That's unfortunate news," Elsa said to her sister. "but it's good to hear that our subjects are happy."

"Yup." Anna nodded. "Mattias and I are going to go into town again two nights from now. Hopefully we can learn more."

"Alright," Elsa said. "but no more jumping over alleyways."

"But Elsaaa," Anna frowned at her older sister. "It was fuuuun!"

"I don't care. It's too dangerous." Elsa said. "As the Queen, I order you to not do it anymore."

"You know Elsa, I'm royal too." Anna said smugly. "That doesn't work on me."

"I know, I know." Elsa chuckled. "I figured it was worth a shot. Besides, you're an adult; you can do whatever you please."

"That's right, I am!" Anna said, crossing her arms and smiling triumphantly.

"Just promise me you won't get hurt," Elsa said through her laughter. "and that you'll be careful."

Elsa moved herself off of the headboard and back down into a lying position and motioned for Anna to join her. Anna removed her riding jacket and flung it across the room before laying down next to her sister.

"I can do that." Anna finally answered. She then placed a kiss on Elsa's temple before she nuzzled her head into her shoulder. Anna draped an arm over the Queen's chest and snuggled as close to her as possible.

On the surface, Elsa seemed happy. She let out a contented sigh and wrapped an arm around her sister. In her head however, she was still concerned about what Anna had told her about Ørnhavn. She decided that she needed to speak to Mattias about it. The only problem was that she was busy ruling the country, and he seemed to constantly be training with the guards. She quickly came up with a plan to ensure they would both be in the same place for a good amount of time.

"We should all have dinner together tomorrow." she said to Anna. "You, me, and Mattias."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Anna replied excitedly.

"I think so." Elsa said. "You can even invite Kristoff if you'd like, but no Sven."

"You're still mad about the pudding thing, huh?" Anna replied.

"Not me," said Elsa. "the maids. They were cleaning that rug for a week."

"I see." said the Princess. "I'll talk to Kristoff in the morning. For now, let's get some sleep. It's been a tiring day."

"Yes it has." Elsa said. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Elsa."

* * *

Queen Elsa sat at the head of the large table, flanked by Princess Anna and Prince Mattias. Kristoff was absent, as he apparently left for an ice gathering trip earlier in the day and was not due back until the next morning. Elsa was secretly glad that he wasn't there, happy to avoid the discomfort from knowing that she was the reason that Anna had left him.

Now, the Queen sat and quietly observed the Prince, lazily swirling the wine in her glass. Mattias was managing to maintain his princely civility while inhaling his portion of roasted duck. Elsa chuckled as she watched him finish his serving before shoveling more duck onto his plate and drowning it in lingonberry sauce. She noticed that Anna had stopped eating in order to watch the Prince, seemingly shocked by the simultaneously ravenous and well-mannered display.

"Hungry, aren't we?" Elsa asked the man, breaking the silence. Mattias looked up from his plate and swallowed the morsel in his mouth.

"Very." he replied. "I was practicing my sword fighting with the guards all day. It really builds up the appetite."

"I see." the Queen responded. Elsa had seen the Prince sparring with the guards earlier in the day. He moved with a fluid grace, wielding a sword in each hand, as he parried strike after strike from multiple guards before lashing out against them with his own weapons. She had to admit; it was an impressive display.

"Mhmm." Mattias hummed as he chewed another piece of duck. "It's a lot of fun, too. Maybe you'd like to try it some time?"

"Me?"

Mattias nodded.

"Oh, no no no." Elsa replied, nodding her head fervently. "I don't think that sword fighting is the best thing for a Queen to be doing. Besides, I'm much too busy." Mattias shrugged.

"If you say so." he said, and turned towards the Princess. "Would you like to try it Anna?

Anna remained silent for another moment, finally realizing her name had been spoken.

"What? Oh, um... I'm not so sure..." she said as her eyes darted back and forth between the Prince and her older sister.

"I promise that it's fun." Mattias added. "Plus, it wouldn't hurt to learn how to defend yourself."

Anna locked eyes with Elsa, hoping to find some guidance in the pools of ice. Elsa merely shrugged and took a sip of her wine.

"I suppose you're right." Anna said. "I _could_ use a self-defense lesson, especially after that business with Hans. Plus, judging by how hungry you are, it seems to be a good workout."

Mattias nodded in affirmation.

"Alright, why not?" Anna exclaimed. "I'll give it a try."

"Splendid!" Mattias cried. "You can join me tomorrow! We can't practice with the guards, though; they'll be too soft on you. So I'll give you a private lesson."

"That sounds excellent." Anna replied with a smile.

Elsa was glad to see everyone getting along, but she had to discuss King Aleksander's concerns about his citizens with the Prince. With a wave of her hand, the servants lining the walls quietly exited the room. When the last door closed, the Queen leaned in towards Mattias.

"Now then," she began. "Anna tells me that your brother is concerned that there will be a revolt in Ørnhavn."

Mattias frowned and nodded his head.

"He is." the Prince replied. "However, his concern could be considered nothing more than paranoia. Our people have been considering dismantling the monarchy for decades. As of yet, nothing has come of it."

"If it is just talk, as you say, why is he so nervous?" Elsa asked.

Mattias sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not entirely sure." he answered. "I haven't heard of anything happening amongst our citizens, save for the occasional political debate or rowdy conversation in the taverns. Perhaps it has something to do with the recent troubles with Weselton and the Southern Isles."

"This is just speculation, of course." the Prince continued. "I really cannot speak for my brother's state of mind, nor can I confirm his reasoning."

"Of course." Elsa retorted. "Do you believe that your people will revolt?"

"I do not." Mattias answered immediately. "At least, there is nothing to make me believe otherwise."

Elsa nodded. The fact that her best spy was seemingly unaware of this situation made her very uneasy. Obviously Mattias knew his own kingdom better than anyone else possibly could, but Viggo was an artist, and information gathering was his medium. He should know something.

"Well, I believe that's enough business for one night." Elsa said, shifting the conversation back to a more casual one.

"I agree." Mattias said as he refilled his glass from a bottle of wine on the table. "All this talk of revolution has made me thirsty."

He finished filling his glass and gestured the bottle towards the Queen.

"Yes, please." Elsa said and held out her glass. To her left, Anna nodded and offered her glass as well. Mattias filled both of the sisters' glasses before putting down the bottle and taking a healthy swig from his own.

"So Mattias," Elsa began. "what possessed you to make the Princess of Arendelle jump over an alleyway?"

_PFFT!_

Mattias coughed at the question, sending wine flying out of his mouth and across the table. Anna broke out into a fit of laughter and Elsa chuckled as the Prince tried to regain his composure. He finally managed to reign in his choking and blotted his face with a napkin. He looked up to see the two sisters laughing at his expense and a wide smile formed on his face. He too began to laugh aloud at the situation.

As the trio laughed together, Elsa took a moment to appreciate what was happening. For the time being, there was nothing to worry about; no politics, no economics, no revolutions or spies or even betrothals. It was just three old friends enjoying each others company.

_'I wish things could always be like this.'_ she thought. The Queen relaxed into her chair and let out a contented sigh as they continued laughing.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya folks. Here's another chapter. For reading. Yup._

_I'd like to take a moment to bid a fond farewell to "Stolen Ice" by the insanely talented Aesla. The epilogue came out yesterday and god damn, was it satisfying._

_Also, I reread my story from the beginning the other night and realized a lot of it may come across as pointless filler, so allow me to address that. Pretty much everything will be relevant at some point, even the fluffy ice castle chapter. You'll see._

_Stick around ladies and gents. Either chapter 16 or 17 is gonna get violent. I haven't decided whether or not to split it up yet. But it's gonna be good :D_

_Your pal,_

_-Cosmic_


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

The following morning found Princess Anna standing in the castle courtyard, waiting for Prince Mattias to arrive. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was illuminated in different shades of red and purple. The Princess, however, was far too cold and far too tired to appreciate the beauty of Arendelle's early-morning. It was a rare occasion that Anna was awake before dawn, but Mattias had insisted that they begin her training as early as possible, so here she stood, adorned in a simple tunic and pants as instructed, arms clutched tightly across her chest to stave off the bitter cold of the morning.

It was several more minutes before Mattias joined the Princess. He was wearing what Anna assumed to be his training outfit and had a sack slung over his shoulder. His free hand rested on the hilt of one of his swords. The smile he beamed at her in greeting only served to annoy Anna as she pondered how anyone could seem so happy this early in the morning.

"Good morning, Anna!" Mattias shouted excitedly as he waved to her. The Princess simply glared at him.

"Goodness, it's cold today!" he exclaimed, now standing at the shivering woman's side. He drew in a deep breath before looking up at the sky and smiling.

"I don't think I'll ever get over just how beautiful Arendelle can be, you know?"

Silence, and another glare.

"Oookay then. Well, let's get to it, shall we?" Mattias said. He turned and began to walk towards the castle, motioning for Anna to follow. He opened the main door and began to step inside, but Anna's voice stopped him.

"W-wait." she said through chattering teeth. "W-we aren't t-training outs-s-side?"

"Heavens, no!" Mattias replied. "It's far too cold out here. We'll train in the ballroom." Anna looked at him incredulously.

"W-why did I n-need to c-c-come out he-here then?"

"Nothing wakes a person up quite like the morning cold." Mattias said with a smile.

After a brief pause, Anna reached out and hit Mattias on the chest.

"You j-j-jerk! I've been st-standing out here in the f-freezing cold for n-n-no reason?!"

"Ow!" Mattias yelped. "The reason I had you come out here is that I needed to make sure you were awake and fully alert, and it worked perfectly, just as I expected it to."

"Ugh, whatever." Anna replied as she shoved her way past the man and into the castle. "Come on, l-let's get this o-over with."

Mattias led Anna through the castle and into the ballroom. He removed the sack from his shoulders and placed it on a plain looking table that had no business being in the ballroom. Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes, realizing that the Prince had undoubtedly procured it from another area of the castle, probably the staff quarters if she were to guess, and probably without the staff's prior knowledge.

Anna silently watched as the Prince's hand reached into the sack and emerged with a sword. Mattias arranged the sword on the table before repeating the task with several more weapons before stepping back from the table.

The Princess jumped as Mattias drew his own swords from their sheathes on his belt in one lightning-fast motion. He proceeded to swing and twirl the blades with an elegance and swiftness that could only be gained from years of training.

_'It looks like he's dancing with them.'_ Anna thought, eyes wide with wonder.

Finally, the Prince stopped moving and exchanged his swords with another pair that he had previously placed to the table. Anna giggled to herself as she noticed how gently he placed his weapons down.

"You really love your swords, don't you?" she asked the man, who looked up from the table and smiled.

"Yes, very much." Mattias replied. "They were a gift from my father."

The Prince walked over to Anna and offered her one of the weapons in his hand. She apprehensively reached out to grab it and was surprised to find that it was much lighter than she had expected. After a moment, she realized the sword was made of wood.

"If we used real swords, we'd _both_ end up dead." Mattias said, answering her question before she could ask it.

He then beckoned for her to follow him to the center of the room. They took up spots several feet apart from each other. Anna held her sword apprehensively while Mattias haphazardly rested it on his shoulder.

"So what now?" Anna asked as she looked around the empty room before her eyes fell on the man before her. He smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Now," he began. "we dance."

Anna raised a brow at the Prince's choice of words. Mattias began to walk in a circle around the Princess.

"Sword fighting is just like dancing." he began to explain. "It's two people moving together in harmony. Of course, when you dance, your partner isn't usually trying to kill you."

Anna looked at the man quizzically.

"In order to be a good dancer, you need to anticipate your partner's next move before they make it." Mattias continued. "You can only react properly if you know what is coming next. Will he dip me? Will he spin me? Switch from left to right?"

Now the Prince began to waltz alone around Anna, who stifled a laugh at the odd behavior.

"The same principle applies to sword fighting." Mattias explained. "You need to think a step ahead of your opponent at all times. He attacks? You parry. He falters? You strike. It's all give and take. Just like a dance partner will broadcast the next step before it happens, a sword fighting opponent will broadcast their next move. If you can figure out how they broadcast it-"

The Prince stopped speaking in order to spin on his heel before ending his dance with a bow.

"-then you will be able to best them every time."

Anna laughed and applauded the man.

"That was lovely, Mattias." she said.

"Thank you." the Prince responded. "I have seen you dance, Anna, and I believe you will be a natural swordsman. I think that the best way to train you would be simply to spar."

"Wait, what?" Anna said. "This is the first time I've ever held a sword, and you want me to fight _you_?"

"Yes." Mattias replied. "I'll go easy on you. For now."

With that, the Prince flourished his sword before pointing it at Anna. She defensively raised her own weapon in response.

"Well, if you're sure..." she said apprehensively.

"Remember: give and take." Mattias said. "Watch my movements. Take note of any time I twitch or shift my weight. Look for the broadcast. _Dance_ with me."

"I'll try." Anna responded. She was starting to feel the effects of the adrenaline that was beginning to flow through her veins. She could feel her heart beating in her chest and her nerves were firing like mad.

She adjusted her grip on the sword and watched Mattias. He didn't move a single muscle. Anna couldn't even see the rise and fall of his chest.

Suddenly, Mattias lunged forward and swung his sword at Anna's side. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the strike, but opened them when she heard the sound of wood making contact with something hard. Without even realizing it, she had raised her sword and successfully blocked Mattias' first attack.

WHUMP

Mattias had lashed out with his open palm and pushed Anna back hard while she was reveling in her small victory. Mattias jumped forward as the Princess fell to her back. She looked up to see him standing over her with the tip of his sword resting a hair's breadth away from the flesh of her neck.

"Do you yield?" the Prince asked. His voice was calm and even despite the fact that they were fighting.

"Ugh, yeah I yield." Anna said as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I thought you said you would go easy on me."

"Easy, yes." the Prince replied. He retracted his sword and offered a hand to the woman. "However, I'm not going to let you get away with making mistakes. Otherwise, you'll never improve."

Anna took the proffered hand and the Prince pulled her to her feet. She rubbed her now-sore backside and looked at the man with a frown.

"You could have just told me my mistake." she said as she shifted her attention to her throbbing chest. "That really hurt."

"I apologize for hurting you, but the best way to learn is through experience." Mattias replied. "The lessons here are never hesitate, never lose focus, and always expect the unexpected. Just because it's a sword fight doesn't mean that your opponent can't use his hands or draw another weapon."

"I'll keep that in mind." Anna answered.

"See to it that you do." the Prince exclaimed.

Anna took a breath and looked at the sword still in her hands. She kept re-living the way she blocked Mattias' attack over and over again. The pride she felt, though brief, was incredible.

"It felt good, didn't it?" Mattias said, snapping her out of her rumination.

"Yeah, it did." the Princess responded, eyes still on her sword.

"Well, I've got nothing on my schedule." Mattias said. "If you'd like, we can do this all day."

"I think I would like that." Anna answered with a grin. The Prince returned the smile.

"Excellent." he said. "Now, again."

Anna raised her sword once more. She wanted to feel the rush of blocking the attack again, and she was determined to not let Mattias get the best of her.

"Remember, stay focused, keep moving, and anticipate." Mattias recited before raising his own sword and shifting his stance.

Anna let out a long, slow breath and locked eyes with the Prince. She could feel her heartbeat again, but the intervals between the beats seemed to be getting longer, as if time itself was slowing. When Mattias lunged forward again, he seemed to move in slow motion.

Anna kept her eyes open this time and easily blocked the first attack. She notice Mattias' empty arm twitch, and sidestepped to avoid the same strike as before. The Prince's hand didn't connect, but he quickly spun his entire body around and swung his sword into Anna's now-exposed side.

"Aghh!" Anna yelled as she recovered from the blow. She grimaced and clasped her arm around the tender flesh.

Mattias withdrew his weapon and smiled at the woman.

"What's so funny?" Anna said through clenched teeth.

"That was much better." the Prince responded. "I was right about you. You're going to be very good at this eventually."

"But it only took one more attack than last time to hit me." Anna said despondently.

"That may be true, but you were able to see my strike coming." Mattias retorted. "You're a fast learner. Trust me, you will be an expert in no time at all."

Mattias raised his sword once more and adjusted his stance. Anna quickly mirrored his actions, planting her feet and slightly bending her knees. She mulled over the Prince's words and a new found confidence took root in her mind. A small grin formed on her face as she raised her sword to meet her opponent's.

Mattias returned the smile and lunged forward.

* * *

The sun had fully risen shortly after they began their training, filling the ballroom with light. Many hours later, the duo's shadows had grown longer and the room began to darken. After several more rounds of combat, the pair had moved on to strength training and calisthenics, followed by mental exercises designed to sharpen their focus. After an hour break for lunch, the pair made their way outside and had been climbing the castle walls and buildings for the better part of the afternoon. They then made their way back into the ballroom to finish the day's session with more sparring.

Princess Anna stepped backwards as she parried strike after strike from the Prince. They had been dueling for the better part of three hours, and she had yet to strike him. She was getting better, though, and each round was longer than the last. The current fight had been happening for almost ten minutes and she was running out of strength. Anna was surprised she had lasted this long, considering how much physical exertion she had undergone over the course of the day.

Anna was quickly nearing the wall of the ballroom and Mattias' attacks were relentless. She needed to do something fast before she was pinned. It was then she saw the sun, low in the sky, shining brightly through one of the many windows. The angle was perfect. If she were to spin the right way and lead Mattias into the sun's rays, the glare would blind him.

Mattias raised his sword to slash downward at her. Anna's heartbeat grew louder and stronger as he did, and once again, time seemed to slow. The Prince began to bring the sword downward ('_far too slowly'_, she noted) and she made her move.

Anna spun right, dodging the slash and making sure the sun was directly behind her. Mattias recovered from his missed strike and spun to face her, only to recoil when the sun shone right into his wide-open eyes.

'_This is it!' _Anna thought. She spun her body around, putting her full weight into what would be the final blow.

"Rrrraahhh!" she growled as she swung the sword. To her surprise, however, she didn't make contact with the Prince. It was already too late to do anything when she realized that he had dropped to his knees. Mattias lashed out with his leg, and swept Anna off her feet.

"Oomph!" she said as she hit the floor with a thud. Before she knew it, she saw the all too familiar sight of Mattias' sword pointed at her neck.

"Do... you … yield?" he said through heavy breathes.

Anna stared at the man. She hadn't won, but if his heavy, erratic breathing was any indication, she had put him through his paces. She smiled at the realization.

"Yes," Anna replied. "I yield."

Mattias' sword fell ungracefully to his side and he helped Anna back to her feet. She then took a moment to reflect.

She was bruised, sore, tired, and sweaty. Her arms were numb and her hands were shaking. Her hair was a mess, and her shirt was stained slightly crimson. She still tasted the copper in her mouth from one particularly nasty hit.

Yet despite the physical discomfort she was feeling, Anna was ecstatic. Sure she was tired and sore, but it was a _good _tired, one she earned. She felt proud of herself, despite not hitting Mattias once. She gave it her all, and that made her feel good.

"I was right about you." the Prince declared. "You're going to be better than me soon if you keep improving at this pace."

"And sure, you didn't win, but you kept up with me." he continued. "I've been doing this since I was _twelve_. You've been doing this for a few _hours_. You're a natural-born swordsman!"

Anna let out a short laugh. She could tell the compliment was genuine, and that made her pride swell even more.

"Thank you," she finally answered, bowing her head slightly and smiling as she did. "but it's only because I have such a good teacher."

Mattias returned the grin and winked at her.

"Well, we better go get cleaned up." he said. "Dinner is soon, and I doubt your sister would appreciate it if we showed up like this."

Anna laughed as the Prince gestured at his disheveled appearance.

"I think you're right." she responded. "I'll see you at dinner, then."

The pair walked to the threshold of the ballroom and exited. Before they went their separate ways, Anna leaned over placed a light kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Mattias." she said. "This was a lot of fun."

"You're very welcome." the Prince responded warmly. "Also, I think we can postpone our excursion into town until tomorrow evening. I would say that we've earned a night off"

"Alright, I don't think I'll have the energy to climb and jump anyway." Anna replied.

With that, the two headed to their respective quarters in order to prepare for dinner.

* * *

"Urgh, why won't you cooperate?"

Queen Elsa growled in frustration as she tried for the fourth time to braid her platinum blonde hair. She slowly twisted each length of hair together, over and under, back and forth. After reaching the end, she tied the braid off and studied it in the mirror. She frowned when she noticed a misstep midway down the braid.

"Ugh, I give up!" she said, untying the knot and throwing her hands up in annoyance. She placed her elbows on her vanity and propped her head up in her hands. The Queen stared at herself in the mirror, eyes full of disdain. It was then she noticed the frost that was forming around the edges of her reflection as if it were framing her displeasure. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to coax her magic to disperse.

Elsa concentrated on the one thing that always calmed her down. She imagined Anna, sword in hand, standing at her side like a valiant knight. A small smile crept onto her face and she heard the frost hiss as it evaporated.

Her reverie was interrupted when she felt warm hands run through her still unkempt hair. She jumped and her eyes jolted open, only to see Anna's face smiling back at her in the surface of the mirror. Elsa returned the smile and closed her eyes as the Princess continued to massage her scalp.

The younger woman's hands moved diligently and before long Elsa's hair was braided in her trademark style. The Queen opened her eyes when the movement stopped and saw that her hair was once again tame. She tilted her head back to look up at her sister.

"Thank you, Anna." she said. "It wasn't listening to me."

"You're welcome." Anna giggled and leaned down to place a quick kiss on Elsa's lips.

"Anna, I need to say something, but before I do, you know that I love you no matter what, right?" Elsa asked after her sister retreated.

"Of course." Anna responded, worry seeping into her features. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, darling." Elsa replied.

"Then what is it?"

"Anna," Elsa smiled. "you smell _terrible_."

"What? I smell terr- oh!" Anna jumped back as her cheeks began to blush. "I'm so sorry! I was training all day with Mattias and I must have gotten dirtier and sweatier than I thought, of course I did we were training for hours! And it's almost dinner, and I'm a complete mess and I'm-"

Anna stopped talking mid thought as she noticed audible laughter coming from the Queen as she continued to stair at her in the mirror. Anna's brow furrowed and she flicked her sister's braid, which swung around Elsa's head to strike her nose.

"Sorry, sorry." Elsa said as she tried to stifle her laughter. "It's not that bad, honestly."

Elsa finally stood up and turned towards the Princess with the intention of hugging her. The smile on her face was replaced with shock and concern, however, when she finally took in Anna's appearance.

"Anna, what happened to you?" she asked, voice laced with worry. "Is that _blood?!_"

"What?" Anna responded. She looked down at her blouse which was still stained crimson from earlier. "Oh, that. Yeah, it's blood."

"Oh, Anna!" Elsa cried before rushing over to her sister. She quickly brought her hands to Anna's face, searching her skin for wounds. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, really." she answered. "Mattias accidentally hit me in the mouth and I cut my lip. It's no big deal, it doesn't even hurt! Plus the bleeding stopped hours ago."

"What? Anna, if you're going to keep getting hurt like this I don't think you should-"

"Elsa, I'm fine. Really." Anna interrupted. "It was a lot of fun, actually, and Mattias says I'm really good at it!"

Anna grasped her older sister's hands, gently pulling them away from her face and holding them between their bodies.

"I want to keep training with him." she said gently. "I want... well... to be able to protect myself; to be able to protect _us_."

Elsa winced slightly. Anna couldn't have known about Viggo's letter; about whatever danger might have been lurking.

"What do we need protection from, Anna?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know..." Anna shrugged her shoulders as her lips bent into a frown. "What if another Hans comes along? Or another Duke of Weselton? Or worse?"

She released the Queen's hands and began to pace around the room.

"You can defend yourself with your magic, but I don't have magic, and there will be times when we're not together. Sure, we have guards and soldiers and whoever to keep us safe, but what if they're not around either? I just... I don't know."

Elsa frowned at her sister's anxiety. She silently thanked the gods that Anna didn't know what she knew. It would be a terrible burden to bare, especially after what had happened so many months ago.

"Anna, is this about-"

"I trusted him, Elsa!" Anna cut her off with fury in her voice. "I trusted him, and he tried to _kill_ us! How can I ever really trust anyone ever again?"

Elsa saw the tears forming in her younger sister's brilliantly expressive eyes. There was so much pain and anger shimmering behind the rapidly-forming moisture. More than anything, however, there was guilt.

The Queen immediately took Anna into her arms and held her tightly as she began to sob into her shoulder. Elsa gently rubbed her sister's hair as each sob sent a tremor through her body.

"Shh. It's alright, Anna." the older woman cooed. "He can't hurt you anymore. No one will ever hurt you again, I won't let them. I promise."

Anna nodded into her sister's shoulder.

"You can trust me, my love, and I trust you." Elsa continued. "I trust you to make your own decisions, and if you think you need to learn to fight for our safety, then I won't stop you. I promise."

Elsa kept her sister in her arms for a few more minutes, silently waiting for the Princess to calm down. Her fingers drew circles on Anna's back as her other hand slipped through copper hair. Eventually the sobs stopped and Anna was able to speak.

"I'm sorry, Elsa." she whispered sadly. "I'm sorry for everything. I should have listened to you that night."

"You don't have to apologize, Anna." Elsa retorted. "I don't blame you for anything. Hans would have tried to hurt us one way or another. The only thing you're guilty of is being a good person, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."

"I know," Anna wiped her nose and sniffled. "but, I just- I just feel so _stupid_. How could I let that happen?"

"He took advantage of your kindness, Anna." the Queen responded. "You are not stupid."

"I don't know..." Anna said as her eyes looked to the ground.

"Come on, Anna." Elsa said as she grabbed her sister's face to force their eyes to meet. "You are _not _stupid, not even a little, and I want you to believe that. Now say it. 'I'm not stupid'."

"I'm not stupid..." Anna muttered.

"Louder, darling. Make _me_ believe that _you_ believe."

"I'm _not_ stupid. I am NOT stupid." Anna said loudly as anger returned to her eyes. "I am not stupid! Hans is stupid for thinking that he could do that to us. I am not the stupid one, he is!"

"There you go, Anna." the older woman said with a smile. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do." Anna replied and kissed the Queen's cool lips. "Thank you, Elsa."

"You are very welcome, my love." Elsa responded. "Now let's get you cleaned up for dinner."

"Ooh, will you scrub my back?!" Anna asked excitedly.

"Of course, my love." Elsa giggled and gestured towards the bathroom.

"Anything for you."

* * *

_A/N_

_Hey folks. Sorry for the delay. Life's gotten pretty shitty lately and finding time to write has been difficult.. As I said previously, one of my very close relatives was diagnosed with cancer recently. She just had surgery and it went well, but the cancer spread to her lymph nodes, which isn't good news. _

_On top of that, another family member passed away in her sleep last night at the incredible age of 97. Crazy, huh?_

_I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel the need to justify the delay. I'll have the next chapter out by Wednesday at the latest, I promise. _

_Thanks for sticking around, everyone. You're the best._

_-Cosmic_


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

The dawning of a new day brought gray skies to Arendelle. Snow drifted down from the sky, blanketing the kingdom with a fresh layer of white. Princess Anna stood outside as she had the previous day, waiting for the Prince-turned-trainer to arrive. She silently thanked the gods for the cloak she was wise enough to wear this time, hugging it close to her as she watched each of her breaths dissipate into the darkness.

The snow made the castle courtyard eerily quiet, the only real noises being the slight howling of the wind and her breathing. Anna looked back and forth, seeing only a stray flame from a lantern or candle in a window through the curtain of white. The stillness of the early morning lulled the Princess into a tranquil state.

Unfortunately, the calm was disturbed by the distant sound of clattering metal. The noise pierced the quiet air and caused Anna to grimace. The Princess hadn't the slightest idea as to what could possibly be making the noise, but she hypothesized that Mattias had something to with it.

The sound grew louder and louder until finally the Prince rounded a corner with a large sack slung over his shoulder, just as he had done the day before. The sack, which seemed to be the source of the clanging noise, was much larger than the one that held the practice weapons from the previous day. He also seemed to be struggling with it's weight.

"Good morning." Mattias called out to her. "Can you open the door, please?"

"Sure." Anna replied. She held the door to the castle's foyer open as Mattias carried the massive parcel through the threshold, grunting out a "Thanks" as he passed.

They made their way to the ballroom just as they had yesterday. The clanging of whatever was in the bag echoed loudly through the main hallways, and Anna noticed several workers peek their heads out of various rooms to see what was causing the commotion.

They finally reached the ballroom, and Anna mouthed an apology and waived to the servants still glaring in her direction before closing the door. There was a large crash just as the door clicked shut as Mattias dropped the large bag onto the floor. The man stretched his back out and let out a sigh of relief.

"Wow, that was heavy." Mattias exclaimed. "I have no idea how anyone was ever able to actually _wear_ this stuff!"

"What do you mean, wear?" Anna asked as the Prince reached into the sack. She gasped when she realized just what it was that he removed.

Mattias was holding the helmet of an antique suit of armor. He lifted the helm up into the air and placed his free hand over his heart.

"Alas, poor Yorick!" Mattias proclaimed before thrusting the helmet into her hands. "Hold this."

"Mattias, where did you get this?" she asked as the Prince started removing more pieces of the armor.

"I found it." he replied while placing a chest plate down.

"You mean you stole it." Anna said.

Mattias looked at Anna as he removed a pauldron from the satchel.

"Borrowed." he corrected. "I'll put it back when we're done."

"Why do we need a suit of armor anyway?"

Mattias stood next to the now-empty sack and began to assemble the suit. He worked surprisingly fast and before long the armor was complete, save for the helm in Anna's hands. He moved to stand next to Anna and beckoned for the helmet.

"It's a visual aid for today's lesson." the Prince finally answered.

"If you say so..." Anna responded as she handed the final piece of the armor to Mattias.

He place the helmet on the shoulders of the suit and stepped back to admire his work.

"Perfect," Mattias said. "but this is for later. Before we use the suit, we'll be sparring again."

The Prince motioned towards the stolen table. To Anna's surprise, there were no swords laying there this time. In place of the weapons, there was a familiar-looking chess set.

"Mattias, did you take that chess board from the library?"

The Prince simply nodded in affirmation.

"That's Elsa's, and she is very fond of it."

"Oh." Mattias squeaked out. "Whoops."

"Does that mean that you'll stop 'borrowing' things?" Anna asked.

"Maybe." Mattias shrugged and sat down at the table, gesturing towards the seat across from him.

"Why chess? Why no swords today?" Anna asked as she took her seat.

"We'll use swords later," he answered. "but chess first."

Mattias picked up the white queen and twirled it in his fingers. He placed the piece back on it's square, exchanging the queen for a pawn.

"Just like dancing and sword fighting, chess is all about thinking ahead." Mattias placed the pawn two squares forward from it's initial position.

"The board is the battlefield, the pieces are the soldiers, and you are the general." he continued. "Just like a real general, you must manipulate the battlefield to your advantage and keep your troops alive. Strategy is key here, just as it is in a sword fight."

The Prince locked eyes with Anna before continuing.

"Today, our sparring will take place on the chess board." Mattias said with a devious grin. "It's your turn; take command of your soldiers and vanquish your enemy."

Anna nodded and timidly reached for one of her pawns. She lifted the piece off of the board and began to move it forward and place it down.

"Remember," Anna jumped at the interruption. "always think ahead."

She nodded and finished her turn, mimicking the Prince and moving one of her pawns two spaces ahead. Mattias smiled at her and looked down at the board as he tried to think of his next move. After a few seconds, he picked up another pawn and moved it one space.

Now the game was in full swing. Anna moved one of her bishops, Mattias responded with a knight. Time went by and the amount of pieces on the board got smaller and smaller.

After about twenty minutes they had entered the end game, having only a few pieces each. Their kings were scattered from their original positions, having been put in check multiple times. Anna was down to her king, a knight, and two pawns. Mattias had his king, a rook, a bishop and a pawn.

"Check." Mattias said after moving his rook. He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him, waiting for Anna to take her turn.

The Princess stared intently at her pieces, taking in as much information as she possibly could. Mattias had her king pinned in a corner, and moving it wouldn't get her out of check. She would have to block the rook.

Anna's gaze moved over each of her pieces as she thought of what each move would bring. She began to feel her head begin to throb as she stared down at the battlefield. Eventually the outlines of the pieces began to blur and her heart began to beat loudly. She noticed that one of her pawns was still completely in focus, the silhouette of the piece still sharp despite her headache. Her thought process became magnetized to the pawn as she thought of every move that the piece could make, three, four, five moves ahead. She thought of every single counter move the Prince could make if she were to move the pawn in question.

Anna couldn't believe how fast her mind was moving. Every second, another five moves flashed behind her eyes. The speed at which her synapses were firing only served to make her headache worsen, yet she managed to maintain a clearness about the battle at hand. Something in her head made her believe that she absolutely had to move the pawn in question, so that is exactly what she did.

Anna slid the piece forward to the next square before moving her hand to massage her throbbing temples. Mattias looked up from the game to see the Princess' eyes squeezed shut and a grimace on her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Anna opened her eyes and responded with a forced smile. "just a little headache. Nothing major."

"We can continue later if you'd like."

"No!" Anna replied curtly. "No, I'd like to keep playing."

"Alright." he replied before moving his rook across the board.

Anna looked back down at the board and began to analyze the possible moves. The board was once again blurry, and she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. Much like the previous play, one of her pieces was still in focus.

Anna looked at her knight. Everything it could do shot through her head almost immediately. One move in particular grabbed her attention, and she lifted the knight before placing it down on the square that her mind was focusing on.

Anna played chess often as it was one of Elsa's favorite things to do. She was in no way bad at it, but the Queen was much better, and Anna had yet to win against her. Mattias seemed to be just as skilled as Elsa, possibly even better, which is why the Princess was so surprised when she looked at the board.

Anna's eyes widened with shock as she took in the scene on the chess board. She looked up at Mattias to see that he also looked completely surprised.

"Checkmate..." Anna whispered. It took her mind a second to realize what she had just said, but the her brain and mouth eventually connected.

"Checkmate!" she shouted with glee. "I did it! I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, you did..." he said, completely dumbstruck as he stared at the board. "Very impressive." he muttered, barely a whisper.

The Prince looked up to see Anna's excited expression and smiled. He reached his arm across the board, offering his hand to her as a gesture of respect.

"Congratulations." he proclaimed as Anna shook his hand.

"Thank you!" she said joyfully. "I've never won before! I play with Elsa all the time, but she's so _good_ at it, I can never beat her, and you seem just as good as her and I just can't _believe_ that I was able to win and-"

Mattias' attempts to stifle his laughter stopped her dead in her tracks.

"You did very well, Anna." he said as his shoulders shook with each guffaw. "That was a well-deserved win."

Anna beamed from ear to ear and curtsied slightly at the Prince.

"You were a most-worthy opponent, Mattias." she said with mock formality.

"I am honored by your humility, Your Highness." Mattias bowed as he responded. "Now if we may move on, it's time for a bit of an anatomy lesson."

"Anatomy?" Anna asked, perplexed.

"That's why I... _borrowed..._ that guy over there." he said as he gestured over his shoulder towards the suit of armor. "You need to learn where, well..."

"Where what_?_" Anna mused, even more confounded than before.

"This is going to sound a little barbaric, but," the Prince continued. "you need to learn where the 'weak points' are on the human body; where to aim for when you strike your opponent."

"Wait a minute," Anna interrupted. "no one said _anything_ about _killing_ anyone!"

"You wanted to learn how to defend yourself, Anna." he responded. "No rational person wants to take another man's life, but it is often necessary."

"Mattias, I don't know. That's..." Anna replied nervously.

"If you're not comfortable with this, we don't have to continue." the Prince offered. "Why don't we call it a day for now? That way you can take some time to really think about continuing."

"I- I would appreciate that." Anna said with a frown as she tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize." he responded and pointed at the suit of armor again. "I don't think our friend will mind waiting."

Anna giggled at the comment and a small smile returned to her face.

"Thanks for understanding, Mattias."

"Not a problem." the man responded with a smile. He gave a small bow before turning to leave the ballroom.

Anna wrapped her arms around her chest and took another look around the room. Her eyes found the suit of armor and a chill shot down her spine at the thought of actually killing someone. She closed her eyes and shook the morbid thoughts out of her head before leaving the ballroom.

* * *

Anna spent the rest of the day arguing with her own thoughts about whether or not to continue the lessons with Prince Mattias. She couldn't possibly imagine what it would be like to actually take someone's life; even thinking about it put a sour feeling in her stomach.

The Princess' mind went back and forth for the entirety of the afternoon as she searched for answers in all the usual places. Joan of Arc had nothing to offer her, nor did the bowl of chocolates that she found in the kitchens. Kristoff was not in the stables, but Sven was, and Anna spent almost an hour ranting to the reindeer, which occasionally grunted in response.

"Sometimes I forget that you're not a person, Sven." Anna said, disappointment in her voice.

In the end, the deciding factor was Elsa, as it usually tended to be. After her second bowl of chocolate, a bout of crying, and one broken greenhouse window, Anna had made her decision. Mattias had asked her what she was willing to do to protect herself and Elsa, and she had replied with "Anything", and she truly meant it. As such, she made the decision to continue her training with Mattias, despite the morbid reality of sword fighting's true purpose. All she could do was hope that it would never be necessary.

Anna was then able to make a very easy choice, which distracted her from her previous indecisiveness. If Queen Elsa were to find out, her training would most likely be over, and Anna didn't want that to happen. So she decided, rather quickly, to not tell Elsa about what Mattias was going to be teaching her.

Later in the evening, after the sisters had eaten dinner, they retreated to Elsa's finally-repaired study to relax for a little while. Anna still wanted to go into town with Mattias that night, despite cutting her training short this morning.

The Queen sat behind her desk and Anna took her place at the chair across from her. The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Anna spoke.

"I'm going into town with Mattias again tonight." she said.

"Oh?" Elsa replied with a grin. "You mean you're going to go 'spy' on the citizens again?"

"It's not _spying..._" Anna countered. "it's... it's a learning experience!"

Elsa put her fingers on her lips to stifle a giggle.

"Don't laugh, you jerk!" Anna exclaimed. "I'm helping the _both_ of us by doing this, you know."

"I know, I know." the Queen replied. "Princess Anna, Spymaster of Arendelle, faithfully serving the crown."

"Hmm..." Anna looked up in thought. "I rather like that title. I accept the position!"

The sisters shared a laugh before once again falling into another amicable muteness. They looked lovingly into each others eyes, until Anna suddenly stood up and walked over to Elsa's balcony door.

"Come here." she beckoned towards the Queen, who stood and joined her side.

Anna opened the double door to the balcony and stepped outside. The setting sun illuminated the still falling-snow, which was much lighter than the blinding white curtain Anna had experienced early that morning.

"See that building down there?" Anna pointed towards the city below them. "The one with the flower on the sign?

Elsa leaned over the railing in the direction the Princess pointed, scanning the Arendelle skyline for the building in question. Eventually she found what she was looking for.

"That's a crocus." the Queen said.

"A golden crocus. _The_ Golden Crocus, to be exact." Anna proclaimed. "That roof is where Mattias and I heard all those men talking about us."

"I see." Elsa replied. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to make out details of the building. In doing so, she noticed something about the building that concerned her.

"You said you jumped to that building, yes?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Anna, the nearest building is easily six meters away!"

Anna simply shrugged.

"You're crazy!"

"Feisty."

"Reckless!"

"Brave!"

Elsa frowned. She knew this was an argument that she was not going to win.

"Anna, I- just be careful. Please."

Anna moved toward her older sister and wrapped her arms around her before planting a kiss on her cool lips. She pulled away slightly, leaning her forehead on Elsa's own.

"Always."

Elsa smiled and Anna kissed her again. They remained in each others arms for a few more seconds before Anna moved away.

"I have to go get ready." she said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Elsa nodded, a wide smile on her face. Another quick kiss and Anna turned to leave.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Anna."

The Princess smiled and departed, leaving Elsa alone on the balcony. The Queen sighed contentedly and turned to look out over her kingdom. She took in a deep breath of the brisk winter air before smiling and heading back into her study.

She turned away from the railing, but something in her peripheral vision made her do a double-take. What looked like a person was hanging off one of the spires of the castle. Elsa strained to make out exactly what she was seeing in the slowly-fading sunlight. She closed her eyes and rubbed them in an attempt to clear her vision, but when she opened them to look again, the figure was gone.

The Queen shrugged the incident off, blaming the phantom vision on fatigue from a long day of treaty writing and fact-checking. With an indifferent shrug, she entered her study and closed the doors behind her.

* * *

An hour later, the Princess made her way to the courtyard to wait for Mattias so the duo could begin their excursion into the city. Anna had donned her riding breeches once again, this time covered by a hooded cloak which served to keep her warm as well as shield her identity even more.

She stood next to the castle door to wait for Mattias, keeping her head on a swivel to avoid being surprised by the Prince like last time. After ten minutes of scanning the courtyard without an appearance from the man, Anna decided to go looking for him.

The Princess began to circumnavigate the interior of the castle walls in an attempt to find her missing companion. She looked in the barracks, the guard tower, and even the greenhouse, just to be sure. The castle was quiet as most of the staff had retired for the evening, and there was no one out of doors besides the occasional guard.

Anna was about to give up when a peculiar noise caught her attention. The distinct sound of two men laughing loudly echoed off of the castle's ramparts. The Princess was following the sound of the laughter when she noticed a plume of smoke and the soft glow of a bonfire coming from the stables. She approached the stables, quickly realizing she had found the source of the clamor.

As Anna got closer to the building, she was able to identify one of the voices. Kristoff was in the middle of telling someone a very enthusiastic story. She entered the stables as he recounted a familiar tale.

"-so she says, 'Please tell me I'm almost there', and she's only a meter up!"

Both Kristoff and his guest burst into laughter again. Anna furrowed her brow in annoyance and walked inside, crossing her arms angrily. Inside, she found Kristoff and Mattias sitting around a fire, eyes squeezed closed and shaking with fits of laughter.

"Ahem." she grunted. Mattias was the first to notice the noise. He sighed as his laughter subsided and turned towards the door. Upon noticing Anna, his eyes lit up.

"_Snakker om sola..._" he exclaimed. "Kristoff, look who's here!"

The blonde man wiped a tear from his eye and looked towards the doorway, finally noticing Anna.

"Anna!" Kristoff exclaimed as he stood up and threw his arms out to his sides. He stumbled towards the woman before wrapping his burly arms around her and lifting her off of the ground. "It's so nice to see you again! We were just talking about you!"

"Hmph, I heard." she growled as Kristoff put her down.

"Kristoff was just telling me about your adventure up the North Mountain." Mattias said as Kristoff returned to his seat. "What a crazy story! A talking snowman and a castle made of ice? Unbelievable!"

"I suppose so..."

"Why didn't you introduce me to Mattias before, Anna?" Kristoff queried. "He's hilarious!"

"I just didn't think to-"

"He makes the reindeer talk!" Mattias blurted out before falling into a cackling fit.

"Wait, what's wrong with- oh."

Anna watched as Kristoff took a long swig straight from a bottle of what she could only assume was some sort of alcohol. She then noticed several empty bottles strewn around the fire.

"Care for a drink, Anna?" Mattias asked as he extended a bottle towards her.

"No, thank you." she said. The Prince shrugged and took a long pull from the container.

"Mattias, we were supposed to go into the city tonight." she exclaimed.

"Well," another swig. "I thought that since you didn't want to continue training earlier, that you wouldn't want to go tonight."

"I never said that."

"..._dæven." _An apologetic look came to the Prince's face.

"_It looks like you messed up, Mattias!" _said "Sven".

"Ppffffthahaha!" Mattias' serious demeanor melted away as he guffawed wildly. Anna rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." he said through jolts of laughter. "The reindeer thing kills me."

Anna shot daggers at him with her eyes.

"Anyway, since I didn't think you were coming out, I got to exploring the castle grounds some more. That's when I met Kristoff here, and he invited me in for a drink!"

"You promised me, Mattias." Anna declared. The smile left his face, replaced by an apologetic frown, and he placed his hands on his knees and stood up.

"You're right, I did." he stumbled a bit as he stood. "Let's go. I can still go. I'm fine."

Kristoff chuckled in the background.

The Prince took a step forward, but before he could put his foot down, he fell backwards, flat as a board. Both men burst out in more laughter. Anna glared indignantly at the Prince.

"Ow." Mattias said. "Sorry, Anna." The Princess threw her arms up in frustration.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked.

Mattias scrunched his face as he pondered the question. Finally, he sat up and leaned back on his hands.

"You can go alone!" he exclaimed.

"Alone?" Anna responded. "I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Sure it is!" he retorted. "You can handle yourself, plus you know more about Arendelle than I do, so you'll know where to go."

"But I don't have any weapons." the Princess countered. "What if someone finds me and tries to hurt me?"

Mattias furrowed his brow in thought as Kristoff began plucking on his lute.

"Ah, I have an idea!" he said. "Take this!" The Prince then undid the holster strapped to his chest and handed it to Anna, pistol and all.

"Are you crazy? I can't take your gun!" Anna cried. "I have no idea how to even use it!"

"It's easy." Mattias said. He removed the weapon from the holster and handed it to Anna grip first. "Just point it at the target and squeeze the trigger."

Anna examined the weapon in her hands. The grip was engraved with intricate carvings and the barrel was covered in ornate pewter embellishments. It was a work of art, and she understood why Mattias was so attached to it.

"Just point and squeeze?" she repeated, looking up from the firearm.

Mattias nodded.

"And you're sure I'll be alright?"

Another nod.

"Alright... I guess I'll go alone," she conceded. "but Elsa cannot find out. Do you understand, Mattias?

"She'll never find out from me." he pledged.

Anna nodded and took her cloak off. She pull the holster over her shoulders and tightened the leather straps before placing the pistol back in it's home and donning her cloak once again. A whistle made her look back up.

"That's... um..." Kristoff began, struggling to find the proper words. The Princess noticed his face reddening. "That's a pretty good look for you, Anna."

"I'll say." Mattias vehemently agreed. "I love a girl that's armed to the teeth."

"Shut up." Anna said as she turned her head away to hide her embarrassment.

"Just sayin'..." Kristoff shrugged and took another drink.

"Best get going then." Mattias said to her as a grin cracked across his face. "No sense wasting daylight!" Both men began laughing wildly once more.

"Ugh." she groaned. "I'm leaving." She turned to walk away, leaving the two men cackling maniacally at Mattias' terrible joke.

Anna raised her hood and headed towards the castle gates.

* * *

"This is pointless."

Anna mumbled her annoyance into the cold night air. She had been sitting on top of The Golden Crocus for the better part of an hour and all she had learned was that the local blacksmith was having an affair with the wife of a banker, and that a certain royal guard couldn't handle his liquor; she could still hear his snoring coming from the street below. All in all, it was nothing but useless gossip.

Anna stood up and stretched her arms, sighing when she heard a satisfying _POP_. She decided to head back to the castle and cut her losses for the night. The Princess adjusted her hood, drawing it tighter to her face, and began her trek across the city rooftops.

She was almost back to the castle when a strange noise caught her attention. The source seemed to be behind the building she was standing on, so she moved to the edge of the rooftop. As she grew closer, the sound grew clearer and louder. Anna couldn't determine what the noise was exactly, but it sounded like...

'_...Muffled screaming...'_

Panic hit the Princess like a brick wall. The sound was muffled screaming, she was sure of it now. She peered over the wall. To her horror, she was right.

There were two people in the alley, a man and a woman. The man straddled the woman, who was lying on the ground, flailing wildly. He held a large knife in one hand while his other hand covered the woman's mouth. Suddenly, the man yelled and recoiled his hand; the woman had bit him.

"Help!" she screamed. There was a smack as the man struck her across the face.

"Shut up!" he growled.

Anna gasped in horror at the scene playing out before her.

"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!" she said to herself. "Think, Anna, this woman needs help!"

Her hand then found it's way to the pistol strapped to her chest. She drew the weapon from it's holster, holding it out in front of her.

"Not that..."

There _was_ something she could do, and it was _exactly _what made her so uncomfortable about Mattias' lesson earlier in the day. Fueled by fear and panic, her heartbeat accelerated and her hands started shaking. Tears began forming in her eyes.

Anna made her decision.

This woman, one of _her people_, needed help, and she was in a position save her. It was her duty as Princess to serve her citizens; she just never imagined that serving the people would entail... _this_.

Anna gripped the pistol in her right hand and stepped toward the ledge. It wasn't a far drop; she would be able to jump down to the ground below with no issue. She wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped over the ledge.

Anna landed with a thud on one knee, immediately drawing the attention of the assailant. The startled man scarmbled to stand up, pointing the knife at her as he did.

"Who the hell are you?!" he yelled, fingers shifting around the hilt of the blade in his hand.

Saying nothing, Anna lifted the pistol and pointed it at the man's chest. Luckily, the darkness of the night masked the nervous shaking of the weapon and the hood on her head masked the tears streaming down her face.

"Whoa, hey, don't shoot!" the man begged when he saw what Anna was holding. "I'm leaving!" The assailant dropped the knife and ran out of the alley. Anna managed to keep the pistol trained on him as he absconded.

When he was finally out of sight, Anna broke down. The pistol fell to the ground and she dropped to her knees. She had gotten lucky; she didn't have to pull the trigger. Still, the thought of almost having to take a life made her sick.

Anna could only hear sobbing, though it wasn't her own. That's when she realized that she wasn't crying; it was the woman that was being attacked. The Princess immediately scrambled to the woman's side, helping her up from the snowy ground. Before she could react, the woman embraced her in a death grip.

"Th-th-thank you!" she sobbed. "Th-thank you s-so mu-much!"

The lump in Anna's throat kept her from responding. She just held the traumatized woman in her arms for what seemed like hours, trying to comfort her. Anna knew that she had to be strong for the woman, so she held back her own sobs.

Eventually, the woman let go. Anna picked up Mattias' pistol, holstered it, and walked the victim out of the alley and to the nearest inn before heading back to the castle. Before she could leave, the woman reached out and placed an arm on her shoulder.

"Thank you, again, for saving me." she whimpered. "He would have killed me if you didn't show up when you did."

The Princess didn't react. She simply stared into the distance.

"Can I know my savior's name?" the woman asked.

Anna peered over her shoulder at the woman. The darkness of the night combined with her cloak had kept her identity unknown, and she decided to keep it that way.

Without a word, Anna ran back to the castle.

* * *

_A/N_

_Hiya folks. I'm still alive. I swear. And look, I posted chapter 17 to prove it!_

_Learning time!  
**'Snakker om sola'**: 'speak of the sun', part of 'Snakker om sola, så skinner'n', which is Norwegian for 'Speak of the sun, and it shines.' (like 'speak of the devil')  
'__**dæven**': Norwegian for 'damn' (or so I was told)_

_Now that that's out of the way, I have good and bad news:_

_Bad news- I'm probably only going to be updating once every two weeks now, which sucks, but I want to make this thing good, and that takes time._

_Good news- The next chapter is basically written already (it was originally part of chapter 17, but it was getting too long) so it'll be out sometime next week._

_I also feel terrible for doing this to Anna, but it's all part of the bigger plan. _

_Hang in there, folks!_

_Love forever,_

_Cosmic_


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

The snow flew past her in white streaks that contrasted sharply against the darkness of the night. The only thing she could hear was the frantic beating of her heart and the choked sobs escaping from her throat. The wind caught in her hood, removing the shroud from her head and exposing her pained expression to the night. Her vision tunneled as the castle gates came into view, but the outline of the rapidly-approaching structure was blunted by the moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Elsa.

She needed to get to Elsa.

Elsa would know what to do.

Elsa would make it alright.

The guards on watch must have seen her crossing the bridge, as the gates began to open as she neared them. She ignored the calls of "Your Highness" and "Are you alright?" from the guards and simply sprinted past them and into the castle.

She ran through the hallways, ignoring the worried faces of the staff, until she reached the grand staircase. She took the stairs two at a time, and before long she was standing outside of Elsa's bedchambers. She tried to lift her hand to open the door, but her body wasn't responding. The shock and fear that she felt during the assault finally caught up to her, and it was paralyzing. She just stood, rigid as a statue, staring at the intricate design on the portal. She thought she heard herself call out for the Queen, but she wasn't sure. It sounded too distant, too quiet, to be coming from her.

Suddenly, the door in front of her creaked open. Light from the room flooded her eyes, completely overwhelming her senses. From the glare came a voice, calm and collected, calling to her questioningly. A feminine figure stepped forward, the light forming a halo around her.

"Anna, are you alright?"

Words got stuck on the tip of her tongue, unable to completely form. She just stepped into the room and fell to her knees, eyes dropping to the floor as she did. The woman closed the door and rushed to her side.

"Anna, please! Answer me!"

She suddenly felt cool hands press onto her face and her eyes came up to meet pure, icy blue. Her vision focused and she saw Elsa.

Elsa would know what to do.

Elsa would make it alright.

At that moment, the weight of the night's events came crashing down.

Princess Anna leaned her head into her sister's shoulder, grasping at her clothing for dear life, and wept.

* * *

"Anna, are you alright?"

Queen Elsa had been reading quietly in her room, awaiting her sister's return, when she heard a whimpering outside of her bedroom door. She placed her book down and went to investigate the noise. Upon opening the door, she found the Princess and was relieved to see her sister back safely.

Something was wrong, though. Anna's eyes were unfocused, the lids puffy and red. Her hair was mussed up, she was covered in dirt, and her breathes were shallow and quick. On top of her disheveled appearance, she also had a pistol strapped to her chest.

The Princess suddenly began moving forward, reaching the middle of the room, where she fell to her knees. Elsa immediately slammed the door shut and rushed to meet the younger woman. She fell in front of Anna and took her face in her hands, forcing the Princess to look at her. Her eyes were still unfocused, though, and this made Elsa nervous.

"Anna, please! Answer me!"

The sound of Elsa's voice must have had an effect on the copper haired woman, because the Princess' teal eyes immediately converged onto hers.

Before Elsa could react, the Princess fell forward and began sobbing madly.

"Anna, what happened? Please, talk to me!"

The Princess didn't respond. Something bad must have happened, but Elsa knew that she wasn't going to get any information out of her sister while she was in this state.

Instead of prying further, the Queen wrapped her arms around Anna and began to softly whisper calming words to her.

Elsa felt something hard jab at her chest and remembered the firearm still holstered on Anna. She gently pried the weapon from between their bodies and placed it as far away as she could before embracing her sister once more.

Concern marred the Queen's features as she tried to imagine what could have caused Anna to break down in such a way. A precursory check of the younger woman's person uncovered no signs of physical injury, so it had to be something she saw or heard.

'_Maybe someone at that tavern insulted her,' _Elsa thought. '_but words don't elicit this kind of reaction from someone.'_

The sisters stayed in that position, in the middle of the floor, for the better part of an hour until the intervals between Anna's sobs grew larger. Eventually the girl stopped crying altogether, but the pair remained on the floor, neither one wanting to let go of the other. Elsa gently caressed her sister's hair and intently listened to the Princess' breathing, which was finally beginning to steady.

"There was a woman... in the alley..."

Elsa was startled by her sister's barely audible voice. She moved her head from Anna's copper hair to better hear the Princess.

"She was laying on the ground," Anna continued. "and a man was sitting on top of her. He had a knife to her throat and he was holding his hand over her mouth."

Elsa gasped at the revelation of the attack, but otherwise remained quiet.

"She fought him away for a second, and screamed for help." Anna paused to sniffle. "Then he hit her in the face."

Elsa saw fresh tears welling in the corner of the Princess' eyes and pulled her back into an embrace.

"I had the gun, and he was going to rob her, or... _violate_ her... or... or..."

Elsa winced as a small sob escaped her sister.

"I jumped down into the alley, and I pointed the gun at him, and I... I..."

'_Oh no'_ Elsa thought.

"Anna... did... did you-"

"He saw the gun and he- and he ran away, but..."

The Queen let out a sigh or relief, and Anna continued her story.

"What if he _didn't_ leave? What if he attacked _me?_ I couldn't shoot him, and he could have killed the both of us!"

Now tears were beginning to blur Elsa's vision, and despite the awful circumstances, a feeling of pride began to overtake her.

"Anna, that doesn't matter." the Queen finally responded. "You saved that woman's life! You should be proud; you're a hero!"

"I'm a coward, Elsa." Anna rebutted. "I couldn't do it, and I put my own life in danger because I was too scared. I got lucky."

"You did _exactly_ what was necessary, my love," Elsa countered. "and I couldn't be more proud of you."

"...but I couldn't-"

"You didn't have to, and that's all that matters." Elsa interrupted. She took the Princess' head in her hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You have to look at this from that woman's perspective; you _saved_ her. Do you think she cares how?"

"He's still out there, though," Anna cried, voice laden with despair. "because _I let him go!_ What if he finds her again?"

With that, Anna broke down again. The Queen frowned; she was used to her sister thinking that she could always do better, but not involving anything this extreme. Elsa was sure that her sister had gotten over the "spare" mentality that caused her so much grief, but it seems that this incident had caused a relapse.

"Anna, you need to give yourself some credit." Elsa cooed and held her sister tighter. "That woman is alive and safe because of you, and that's all that matters; you should be proud of yourself."

Anna sniffled and wiped a stray tear.

"D- do you really think so?"

"Yes, I do," Elsa replied. "and so should you."

"O-okay." the Princess answered shakily. "I'll try."

The sisters sat in a calm quiet, still not wanting to leave each others embrace. For several minutes, the only sounds apart from their breathing was the occasional sniffle from Anna.

"I was so scared, Elsa..."

"I know, my heart," Elsa whispered. "but there's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

Anna looked up at the Queen, a weak but sincere smile across her face. She nestled her head back into the crook of the older woman's neck, closed her eyes, and let out a long, deep breath. As she did, a peculiar thought crossed Elsa's mind.

"Anna, why did _you _have Mattias' gun?"

Anna's eyes shot open.

"Umm... well, y-you see..."

"Anna."

"Well... he... wasn't there."

Elsa separated herself from the Princess. Her brow fell and her eyes narrowed; the question didn't need to be vocalized to be asked.

"He was... well, he was... drinking... with Kristoff..."

The Queen's eyes widened with disbelief and the temperature dropped noticeably, but much to Anna's surprise, she said nothing; she simply embraced her sister once more.

"You're safe and that's all that matters." Elsa said as she released the embrace and stood up, offering her hand to the Princess as she did. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

Anna nodded and stood up, taking Elsa's hand as she did. Together, the sisters prepared for bed, and before long they were snuggled together under Elsa's duvet. Anna settled into the Queen's side, but she couldn't get comfortable; something Elsa had done- or rather, hadn't done- was nagging at her mind.

"Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"I can't plot Mattias' death in a panic, Anna."

"Oh."

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Elsa."

* * *

Princess Anna yawned as she walked through the castle. Elsa had managed to calm her down enough to have a rather restful night of sleep, despite the trauma that she witnessed earlier that evening.

The previous day's storm had passed and the sun shone brightly down on Arendelle. Anna stopped next to a window to bask in the light. She drew in a deep breath as the sun's warmth flooded her body, filling her with a sense of ease that was easily shattered when the light reflected off of the object in her hand.

Anna frowned as she looked at the pistol, memories of the previous night flooding into her mind. She shook the unpleasant thoughts out of her head and tried to distract herself by examining the weapon closely.

The light from the sun glinted off of the finely polished pewter. The raised metal ran along the sides of the barrel, twisting and turning in an elaborate, flowing design which ended where the barrel met the grip.

The Princess traced the design with her hand, stopping where the silver lines met. The weapon seemed to flow to this point, and Anna noticed that even the carvings in the stock of the weapon seemed to point there.

At the epicenter of the design was a black stone medallion that shimmered as the light hit it. The medallion was almost triangular, though the bottom edge was open in the middle with the two spurs curving downward. Each side of the medallion was adorned with the silhouette of an eagle; Anna recognized it from the flag of Ørnhavn.

Anna made a note to ask Mattias about the symbol before continuing to her destination. She hadn't woken up to train with the Prince, so she was headed to the ballroom to explain herself, as well as return the weapon to it's rightful owner.

As the Princess entered the ballroom, she immediately heard the sound of metal striking metal. After quickly scanning the room, she found Mattias locked in a fierce sword fight with the stolen suit of armor.

Anna giggled to herself as the Prince danced around the suit of armor. He flitted about with exaggerated gestures, shouting the whole time. Cries of "Take _this!_" and "Aha!" filled the ballroom. Anna couldn't hold back her laughter when he yelled out "You'll never defeat me, you scoundrel!"

Mattias heard the chuckling and stopped his faux sword fight and turned toward Anna. A smile grew on his face when he realized who the intruder was.

"Anna, good morning!" he called out to her before gesturing between himself and the armor. "Enjoying the show?"

"Quite a lot, Mattias." the Princess answered.

"I take it you're not here for training?" the Prince asked as he pointed to her. Anna frowned; Mattias must have noticed that she was wearing a casual dress instead of her usual training outfit.

"I'm afraid not." she said forlornly. "I... I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Mattias said. "What made you decide to stop?"

Anna looked at the pistol still in her hands. A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"I couldn't do it, Mattias."

"Do what?"

Anna sat down on the floor and retold her account of the assault she witnessed to Mattias. He sat in silent attention as she told him every detail of the encounter as well as every feeling she had about it.

By the end of the story, the Princess was openly crying once again. Mattias stood silently as he processed everything he had been told. Anna could feel his eyes boring into her own and squeezed her eyelids shut, hoping to escape his judgmental gaze.

A moment later, she felt a hand reach across her back and rest on her shoulder. Anna opened her eyes to see the Prince sitting next to her with a worried look on his face.

"That's... unfortunate." he said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Anna just nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

"I will say, though, that I agree with Elsa. You should be proud of yourself. Not only did you save that woman's life, but you stayed true to yourself."

Anna sniffled. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't let the situation compromise your character." Mattias continued. "If you replayed that scenario a thousand times, I don't think you would pull the trigger even once. It's just not who you are."

"But I-"

"Resolve that strong is rare, Anna." the Prince interrupted. "You should embrace it. That resolve is what makes you such a strong person; what makes you such a genuinely good person."

Mattias shifted so he was sitting directly in front of her and put a hand on each of her shoulders. He smiled warmly at her before continuing.

"If you take anything away from last night, let it be this: In the face of adversity, your spirit remained pure and incorruptible, and that is something to be proud of."

A weak smile formed on Anna's face as she processed the Prince's words. They seemed genuine, and Anna could tell that he truly believed what he was saying.

"Thank you, Mattias." she said quietly. Her eyes fell back down to the pistol in her lap and she began tracing the designs once again.

"It's odd, isn't it?" Mattias asked.

"What's odd?"

"That something so beautiful can be so dangerous."

"Yeah," she replied. "just like El-"

Anna cut herself off.

'_Just like Elsa.'_

Memories of the coronation flooded into her mind; her sister's ice destroying ships in the fjord. Marshmallow, the snow golem, chasing her and Kristoff over the cliff. Ice penetrating the walls of the castle.

Elsa and her magic are both incredibly beautiful, but undeniably dangerous. She could see why the Duke was concerned.

'_What?' _

Her own thoughts startled her. Why would she think that? She loved Elsa more than anything.

Anna shook the thought out of her mind.

'_She _was_ dangerous,' _Anna reassured herself. '_but she can control it now. She's not a threat to anyone.'_

"Is everything alright, Anna?"

"Nothing," she shot back. "it's nothing."

Mattias looked at her, eyes laden with suspicion.

Anna couldn't believe her own mind. She had never thought anything like that before. It was unlike her to have any negative thoughts about Elsa. After all, Elsa was perfect.

"What is this symbol here?" Anna asked, quickly changing the subject and pointing to the stone medallion on the gun.

"That?" Mattias replied. "It's the, uh, the symbol of the Ørnhavn Special Military Forces."

"It's very beautiful." Anna said, taking note of the Prince's hesitation.

"It's made of obsidian." he replied. "It reflects black or gold depending on how the light hits it."

"I've never seen anything quite like it before." Anna said as she turned the gun in her hands, watching the colors shift.

"It's from Syria, in the Near East." the Prince replied. "It's very rare outside of that region."

"How did you get it?" Anna asked.

"It was a gift from an Ottoman nobleman that I met during my travels." he replied. "I bought the actual gun from an American man who was visiting Ørnhavn."

"A gun from America, decorated with a gem from the Near East, wielded by a prince from Ørnhavn." Anna chuckled as she handed the weapon back to it's rightful owner. "This is a very worldly pistol."

"It certainly is." the Prince replied as he took the weapon from Anna's hand. "It's my prized possession. I'm glad it was able to help you."

"Yeah..." Anna mumbled, and the two fell into silence.

"If you ever want to train with me again, you're more than welcome to." Mattias finally said. "My offer stands."

"Thank you, Mattias, I'll..." Anna replied. "I'll think about it, but for now, I need to stop."

"I understand." the Prince exclaimed and stood up. He offered Anna his hand and she took it as she too rose to her feet.

Anna looked up at the man, who was smiling down on her with knowing eyes. She wrapped her arms around the Prince, who seemed to flinch at the movement before returning the embrace.

"Thanks for the pep talk, Mattias." the Princess said. "I really needed it."

"Any time." Mattias replied.

Anna separated herself from the Prince and turned to leave the ballroom.

* * *

Several hours later Anna was in the library, scouring through books, searching for the symbol from Mattias' pistol. The way he hesitated to tell her what it meant hadn't gone unnoticed and Anna took that to mean that he was lying.

The Princess sat at Elsa's desk, surrounded by every book about the Near East that she could find. She had read through a little more than half of the pile with no results.

"Ugh, still nothing." Anna groaned as she closed yet another book and placed it to the side. She sat back in her chair with a frustrated look on her face. The sun had long since gone down and the strain from reading in candlelight was starting to make her eyes ache.

With a loud sigh, she picked up the next book. The leather binding was worn down and tattered from years of use. It was easily the oldest book she had found, and judging by it's condition, it could quite possibly be the oldest book in the library. The Princess opened the cover and looked at the torn, yellowed pages.

The book was written in a language that Anna had never seen before. The characters were linear and streamlined with smooth curves that flowed elegantly across the page. She flipped through the pages, finding more of the same indecipherable language with every turn.

"Well, this one is useless." she said with annoyance.

Anna continued to root through the pages, finding nothing that could help her. Just as she was about to move on from the book, she came across a page that was covered in illustrations.

The drawings depicted what looked like a large-scale battle. On one side were knights of old, adorned in chain mail and wielding long swords and shields emblazoned with red crosses. Behind the knights was a bald man mounted on a horse, sword held high in the air.

Across from the knights was a legion of men in white, hooded robes. Some of the men in the drawing were holding swords as well, but several others seemed to be holding small daggers. At the back of their ranks was a bearded man in a robe similar to the others, though his was black. He too held a sword above his head.

What truly caught Anna's attention, though, was the background. Both groups of soldiers stood in front of a large castle that rose high into the air. Above the tallest tower was a golden orb with black lines tracing across it's surface that was radiating light.

The orb seemed to be the focal point of the picture, but it was the white banners that adorned the parapets that made Anna pause.

At the center of each of the banners was the same symbol that was on Mattias' gun.

"Anna?"

The Princess' head shot up to see Elsa standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?"

"Who, me?" Anna said. "Just uh... just... reading! Yeah, just doing some reading."

Elsa raised her brow questioningly.

"But... I'm done now!" Anna exclaimed as she flipped the book over in order to save the page. "What's up?"

"It's getting late." Elsa responded. "I was just coming to see if you wanted to go to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow; we should get a good night's rest."

"Busy day?"

"...our monthly official good-will trip into the city?"

"Oh. Oh, right, of course!" Anna responded as she stood up from her chair. "I _totally_ didn't forget about that. No, ma'am."

"I'm sure you didn't." Elsa answered sarcastically. "So are you coming to bed?"

"Yes, of course!" Anna shouted as she raced past the Queen. "Waiting on you now!"

Elsa laughed as she watched her younger sister run down the hallway. Once the Princess had turned the corner, Elsa turned her attention back to the library.

The Queen quickly entered the room and walked straight to the desk that Anna was sitting at. She sat in the chair and wasted no time in turning the old book over.

Elsa took in the scene on the page, rapidly scanning over the illustrations. She recognized the script as Arabic, but was unable to interpret it. She ran her hand over the page, tracing the outline of the illustrations and the curvature of the script.

'_I wonder why Anna was reading this.' _ she thought.

Not wanting to rouse any suspicions from her sister, Elsa put the book back on the desk in the exact position that she had found it in and headed out of the library. Along the way to her room, she saw Kai and summoned him over to her.

"Your Majesty." he said with a bow. "How may I be of assistance?"

"There is a book written in Arabic on the desk in the library." Elsa explained. "It is opened to a page with an illustration of a battle on it. I need that page translated."

"Right away, Your Majesty." Kai responded.

"When the translation is finished, it must be put back _exactly_ how it was found. Understood?"

"Absolutely." the servant said. "I will see to it personally."

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa replied. "That will be all."

"Your Majesty." Kai bowed and took his leave

Elsa then headed for her room, eager to put the day behind her.

* * *

"Where's my blue day dress?"

Queen Elsa sat at her vanity, quietly brushing her platinum blonde hair as Princess Anna rifled through her closet in search of the missing garment.

"Hmm?" Elsa answered while continuing to run the brush through her hair.

"My blue day dress." Anna repeated as she stuck her head out of the closet. "Have you seen it?"

"Did you check _your_ closet?"

"Why would it be there?"

"Because it's _your _dress, darling." Elsa replied as more and more outfits flew across the room. "_Your_ dress should be in _your _closet."

"I suppose that makes sense," the Princess replied. "but I'm... pretty sure that... ah! There it is!"

A moment later, Anna stepped out of the closet clad in the dress she had been so fervently searching for.

"So? How do I look?" Anna asked. The Queen stopped brushing her hair and turned to her sister.

"Beautiful," Elsa replied. "but why was your dress in here?"

"I spend more time in your room than mine," Anna responded. "so I moved some of my things into your closet."

"Without asking me first?" the Queen asked, with a stern look on her face.

"Well, yeah." Anna stated as she took Elsa's hands into her own. "It's not like you would have said no."

Elsa tried to maintain her serious composure, but found it difficult in the presence of her lover and a smile breached her façade.

"No, I wouldn't have." Elsa said. She then reached up to kiss the Princess' soft, rosy lips. "Now then, did you ever ask Mattias if he was coming with us?"

"Mattias? Well... no." Anna replied. "I forgot."

"Why don't you go do that now?"

"Sure." Anna smiled and kissed the Queen once more. "I'll see you later."

Elsa returned the smile and watch the Princess bound towards the door. When she got there, she threw the portal open and nearly ran headlong into Kai, who had his fist raised as if he were about to knock on the door.

"Oh, sorry Kai." Anna exclaimed as she shuffled past the head servant. She was gone before he could react, so he turned his head towards the Queen.

"Your Majesty," he said with a bow. "I've taken care of the task you gave to me. May I come in?"

"Please," Elsa affirmed. "and close the door behind you."

"Certainly." Kai said as he entered, making sure that the door clicked closed as he did. He then made his way over to where Elsa was sitting.

"I had one of our foreign ambassadors look at the document." he began as he handed a folded sheet of paper to the Queen. "He tells me that this translation is accurate to the letter."

"Thank you." Elsa said as she took the paper. After unfolding it, she began to scan the page. What she saw there made her eyes widen in shock. Unbeknownst to her, the temperature of the room had sharply declined.

"Is... everything alright, Your Majesty?" Kai asked. Elsa looked up at the man and noticed that she could see his breath.

"Yes." Elsa lied. "Did you read this?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Good." Elsa said as her eyes fell back to the document. "Tell the ambassador that if he ever discusses what he read to another living soul, his position will be terminated and he will be prosecuted on the grounds of treason."

"Treason, Your Majesty?" Kai asked with slight bewilderment. "That seems a little-"

"Just do it." Elsa said sharply, cutting the man off. "No questions. Mention this to no one."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Elsa continued to stare at the paper as the head servant quietly left the room. She made no attempt to return the temperature of the room to normal or stop the ice that was now crawling across the page. She was far too distracted by one of the words on the page.

The ambassador had traced the symbol that was on the flags in the book. Under that symbol was a word that made Elsa's blood run cold. A wave of terror flooded the Queen's body as the word made it's way past her lips.

"Assassin."

* * *

"Mattias? Are you in there?"

Anna knocked at the door of Mattias' bedchambers and waited.

"Just a second!" the Prince called out.

Anna heard movement coming from inside the room, followed by a loud crash that made her flinch. Several seconds later, a disheveled-looking Mattias opened the door.

"Anna," he said. "how can I help you?"

"What was that crash?" Anna asked. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Hmm?" Mattias hummed as he looked back into the room. "Yup. Everything's fine in here. Did I mention you look very beautiful today?"

"Umm... thank you?"

"Yes, very beautiful." Mattias continued. "That dress looks lovely. You should wear blue more often."

"I'll consider it... are you _sure_ everything is alright?"

"Absolutely." Mattias reaffirmed. "Everything is perfect."

"Okay then." Anna replied. "Today is our first official trip into town since you arrived, and Elsa and I were wondering if you wanted to come with us."

"Oh yeah, Elsa was telling me about that yesterday." the Prince exclaimed. "Say, on these trips, do you go to the Ice Palace that Kristoff told me about?"

"No, we don't." Anna answered. "We just go into town to greet the people and talk to local merchants."

"That's too bad." the Prince replied. "I'd like to see it. Perhaps you could take me there one day?"

"Sure, I can do that." Anna said. "So are you coming with us?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass." Mattias answered. "I received several letters from my brother this morning that require a timely response, so I have to have them on the way to Ørnhavn by nightfall."

"I see." Anna said. "Maybe next time, then?"

"Maybe next time."

With a small wave, Anna turned and headed for the castle entrance.

* * *

Queen Elsa paced back and forth at the castle entrance, waiting for the Royal Guards that would be escorting her into town to arrive. The translation of the book that Anna was reading flashed through her mind over and over again.

'_Assassin... Viggo was right,' _she thought. '_but why was Anna reading about assassins?'_

"Your Majesty."

Elsa was startled from her thoughts by the gruff voice of Guard Captain Stenson as he announced his arrival. He was flanked by the same four-man squad that accompanied the sisters on every official trip into town.

"Captain Stenson." Elsa replied. "A word, please."

"Of course." he replied. "At ease, men."

With practiced precision, the four guards shifted their stance as Elsa led Captain Stenson into a secluded corner of the foyer.

"Captain, I have recently been made aware of an unspecified threat to the kingdom. I need you and your men to be on high alert today. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good." Elsa replied. "You may return to your command."

With a salute, Captain Stenson returned to his men, and the Queen went back to pacing. After several more minutes, the Princess arrived in the foyer.

"Hello, Your Majesty." Anna said as she curtsied.

"Your Highness." Elsa replied as she tried to stifle a giggle at the formality. "Where's the Prince?"

"Mattias will not be joining us today." the Princess answered. "He said he has to write some letters to King Aleksander. At least, that's the reason he gave me. I think he doesn't want to come because we aren't going to your ice palace."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he asked if we were going there today and got upset when I said no." Anna replied. "I told him I would take him another time."

"How did he even find out about the palace?" Elsa asked.

"Kristoff." the Princess said matter-of-factly. "Who else would it be?"

"Of course." Elsa stated with a giggle.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness." Captain Stenson interrupted. "Are you ready to depart?"

"Yes, Captain." Elsa responded. "Please, lead the way."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Wolf, Hagebak; take point!" he called out. ""Holt, Carlson; you take the rear. Move out!"

Multiple cries of "Yes, sir" rang out and the soldiers were on the move.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, please stay in between myself and the rear guard." Captain Stenson instructed.

"Of course, Captain." the Queen replied and gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

The Captain nodded and took his position behind the lead soldiers. Elsa and Anna followed, and as they took their position behind the Captain, the group began their journey.

Servants opened the main doors of the castle and the guards began to march ahead. Elsa held onto her sister's arm as she usually did, but Anna noticed that her grip was tighter than usual.

"Elsa, you're squeezing me really hard." she whispered. "Are you alright?"

Elsa turned to the Princess, and Anna saw the answer in her eyes.

The Queen's brow was furrowed, and the only emotion that Anna could see in the icy blue orbs was fear. Something was definitely wrong.

"Yes," Elsa replied. "I'm fine. Just... I'm fine."

"Okay..." the Princess murmured.

Elsa maintained her death grip on Anna's arm as the group continued their procession across the courtyard and towards the gates. As they approached, the two guards manning the gates saluted the captain and bowed to the Queen and Princess. After the group has made its way through the gates, the guards closed them.

Several steps later, all hell broke lose.

Elsa watched as the Captain reached for the hilt of his sword. For some reason, time seemed to slow down as she heard the metallic sound of the sword being unsheathed.

The Captain let out a cry as he brought the sword up and spun around. As he lifted his hand to strike, a shadow blocked the light from the sun and Elsa's vision darkened.

Captain Stenson raised his sword to strike, and Elsa threw her hands up in a defensive posture, turning her head and closing her eyes as she did, waiting for the pain of the blade sinking into her flesh.

The strike never came though. Elsa's vision brightened as her eyes were re-exposed to the sun. Then she heard a loud thud and a cry of pain, followed by the sound of Anna screaming.

Elsa opened her eyes to see a hooded figure crouched on top of the now-fallen Guard Captain with a hand planted into his shoulder. The figure drew his hand back, exposing the blade that was just embedded in the Captain's chest and throwing a trail of blood from it's edge.

The hooded figure stood up and drew two swords from his belt before turning towards Anna and Elsa.

"What the..."

The Queen locked eyes with the figure. Icy blue meeting stone gray, and she immediately realized who the mysterious assailant was.

Elsa gasped.

She was standing face to face with Mattias, Prince of Ørnhavn.


End file.
